The Israel Air Force claims to have killed the chief of Hamas’s Air Force, Murad Abu Murad, in a midnight airstrike. The strike was directed against a Hamas command center that oversaw the organization’s aerial activity in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Force stated that Murad Abu Murad “was largely responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre on Saturday.”
In a post on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, “Also, during the last day, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked the operational headquarters of the terrorist organization Hamas, from where the organization’s aerial activities were managed. During the attack, Murad Abu Murad, the head of the air formation in Gaza City who took a large part and directed terrorists in the murderous attack on Saturday, was killed.”
In separate strikes carried out overnight, the Israeli Air Forces said that it had struck dozens of sites belonging to Hamas’s commando forces, who led the infiltration into Israel on October 7, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli Air Forces said that the Israeli Defence Forces and the Israeli Air Forces will continue to operate “as required in order to defend the State of Israel against the Hamas terrorist organization.”
In a post shared on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, “Last night, IAF fighter jets conducted wide-scale strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. These included dozens of Hamas terror targets as well as “Nukhba” terrorist operatives that were in a staging ground in the Gaza Strip.”
In another update on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, “A short while ago, IDF soldiers identified a terrorist cell that attempted to infiltrate from Lebanon into Israeli territory.” An IAF UAV hit the terrorist cell, killing many terrorists.”
In the most recent update on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli Defense Forces Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on Saturday that people in Gaza are listening to Israel’s warning and doing the right thing, noting a significant movement of Palestinian civilians to the south.
“We have seen a significant movement of the Palestinian civilians towards the south…we have seen people listening to our warning, understanding that they doing the clever thing, moving out of the dangerous area, and the right thing for their family…,” he said.
On Friday the Israeli military had called for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City. The IDF says that it had advertised its intentions as it did not want civilians to be affected by the war. The IDF further said that Israel was fighting against Hamas and its military infrastructure.
“We advertised our intentions in advance not because it has any military logic but because we want civilians not to be affected by the war. We didn’t put those civilians there and they are not our enemy. We are not trying to kill or injure any civilians, we are fighting against Hamas and its military infrastructure…that’s where we targeted around the Gaza strip and in the northern part of the Gaza strip,” he said.
Conricus emphasized that the eventual goal of this battle is the total destruction of Hamas and its infrastructure. “We dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities and fundamentally change the situation so that Hamas never again has the ability to inflict any damage on Israeli civilians or soldiers,” said a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces. According to Israeli defense forces, Hamas has abducted more than 120 individuals in Gaza.
