Israeli Armed Forces on Saturday conducted strikes on Rafah and Lebanon targeting High-ranking Hamas Officials. Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Rafah in southern Gaza and Lebanon, targeting senior Hamas officials with minimal time difference between the attacks.
In Rafah, the airstrike resulted in the death of a senior Hamas secret police officer, Ahmed Al-Yaaqoubi, who played a critical role in Hamas leadership security, identified as the primary target of the operation. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet confirmed the killing of two other Hamas operatives, including Iman Rantisi, a senior figure in the organization’s security intelligence unit. IDF footage showed the moment their vehicle was struck in Rafah.
Simultaneously, a related incident occurred in Lebanon, where an Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted Hamas official Basel Salah, involved in recruitment and managing attacks in the West Bank. The attack took place in the village of Jadra, approximately 60 kilometers deep inside Lebanon from the Israeli border.
According to Palestinian officials, Salah survived the attack but is believed to have sustained serious injuries. This incident follows a pattern of targeted strikes against Hamas, including an operation last month that killed Azzam Al-Aqraa and Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader of the organization, in Beirut.
These successive strikes come after reports emerged earlier that commanders of the IRGC, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were poisoned in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, resulting in casualties and injuries.
