IDF Kills Gaza Police Chief and Hamas Naval Cell Leader in Strikes Amid Ongoing Conflict

The Palestinian Interior Ministry, controlled by Hamas, reported on Tuesday that Muhammad Marwan Salem, the police chief of the Jabalia refugee camp, along with several officers and staff, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Palestinian sources indicated that seven people died in the attack, with additional injuries reported. Reuters cited medical sources reporting one death and three injuries in Khan Yunis, and a 10-year-old child killed in Rafah during separate Israeli strikes.

The IDF confirmed the killing of Asama Naim Hamdi Shamlak, the commander of a Hamas naval cell, in Gaza City. According to the IDF spokesperson, Shamlak had been working to rebuild and strengthen Hamas's naval capabilities and to advance maritime terror operations. In a separate strike in northern Gaza, three armed Hamas militants were killed while attempting to carry out attacks against Israeli forces. The IDF stated these militants posed an immediate threat and were eliminated by precise aerial strikes.

Last Thursday, the IDF killed Yahya Said Muhammad Hamdan, head of a Hamas military cell in the southern Gaza Strip, who had participated in the October 7 massacre at Re'im and was actively working to restore Hamas's operational capabilities. The day before, Rashid Alqatchi, a senior figure in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's weapons manufacturing division, was also killed. The IDF noted Alqatchi played a central role in producing and supplying weapons intended to target Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The IDF Southern Command remains deployed in the area under existing agreements and continues operations to neutralize immediate threats to Israeli forces.