FOUR Hamas leaders have been killed including a top commander in charge of northern Gaza, the terror group has claimed.
In a Telegram post, the organisation confirmed the death of Ahmed Al Ghandour, a senior member of its military council who was in charge for 18 years.
TwitterHamas says its top commander Ahmad Al Ghandour has been killed by Israeli forces during war in Gaza[/caption]
Ghandour, on the left, had been in charge of northern Gaza for the past 18 years
In a statement, the military faction Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said Ghandour was killed during Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.
He had survived at least three Israeli attempts to kill him, going back to 2002, according to Washington-based Counter Extremism Project.
Other Hamas seniors who were killed were named Wael Rajab, Raf’at Salman and Ayman Siyam, according to Hamas.
The IDF had previously said it hit tunnels where Ahmed Ghandour and Ayman Siam were hiding, but has not confirmed their deaths yet.
It is also not yet clear when they died.
The Israeli troops have targeted several of the listed individuals multiple times in the past 15 years.
It comes after Omar Abu Jallah, another top Hamas commander, was wiped out in an Israeli air strike just hours before a four-day ceasefire began.
The IAF said Abu Jallah was a senior naval commander based in Khan Yunis, in the besieged Gaza Strip.
A statement from the force read: “The Air Force, guided by the intelligence of the Navy, AMN and Shin Bet, eliminated Amr Abu Jallah, the commander of the Hamas naval force in Khan Yunis, and another terrorist from the organisation’s naval force.
“Omar Abu Jallah was a senior in the naval force, and was involved from the beginning of the fighting in sending a number of naval attacks that were foiled by our forces.”
The IAF later posted a video saying its fighter jets struck a number of rocket launcher sites in Lebanon.
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