An Israeli Air Force aircraft struck a jeep carrying militants on Monday morning in the upscale Remal neighborhood in western Gaza City. Palestinian reports first said at least two people were killed, but later revised the toll to one dead, described as a 17-year-old girl. The identities of those killed were still unknown, and the IDF had not yet issued an official statement on the strike.
The article notes that, in general, about 24 hours usually pass between an attack and an official IDF announcement about the targets. Remal is considered one of Gaza City’s most affluent neighborhoods and has previously housed several senior Hamas figures. About two weeks ago, the IDF also tried to kill Muhammad Odeh, Hamas’s newly appointed military wing commander, only 11 days into the job.
The strike was presented as part of a broader wave of targeted killings in Gaza in recent weeks. Last week, two militants from Hamas’s financial transfer network were killed, after helping move more than 500 million shekels to the organization’s military wing. On Friday, Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, the Nukhba commander of the Khan Younis Brigade in Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was killed in southern Gaza.
According to the IDF, Abu Mustafa had taken part in the October 7 massacre, including the abduction of Yagil Yaakov from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and had recently worked to rebuild the terror group’s capabilities in violation of the ceasefire. The military said he also advanced numerous terror plots against Israeli forces and tried to train militants inside Nasser Hospital so they would not be killed while operating there. The IDF said its forces continue operating in Gaza in line with the ceasefire, while eliminating militants who pose an immediate threat, and said more updates would follow.