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September 7 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Two Islamic Jihad battalion commanders were killed last Thursday in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Armed Forces reported on Saturday.
The dead are Abdullah Khattab, commander of the Deir al-Balah South Battalion, and Hatem Abu al-Jidyan, commander of the Deir al-Balah East Battalion, according to the military statement.
Both were in a command centre located within the humanitarian zone delimited by the Israeli authorities, specifically in Deir al-Bala, in the centre of the Gaza Strip.
Khattab was reportedly one of his battalion’s commanders during the October 7 attack on Israeli territory and participated in numerous attacks against Israeli military forces, including rocket fire and anti-tank grenade launching.
Abu al-Jidyan is also believed to be involved in numerous attacks against soldiers in the context of the current confrontations in the Gaza Strip.
The military statement said “numerous measures” had been taken to avoid civilian casualties, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and other intelligence data.
“This is another example of the systematic use of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure, including the humanitarian zone, by terrorist organizations to perpetrate terrorist acts against the State and the Israel Defense Forces,” they said.
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