Israel declared on Thursday that it had eliminated two top Hamas officials in a series of targeted attacks in the Gaza Strip, including the militant group’s chief of internal security.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Rashid Jahjouh, head of Hamas’s General Security Service, was eliminated in a recent attack. Jahjouh had taken office after his predecessor, Sami Oudeh, was killed in July 2024. Amin Eslaiah was killed in a strike and named by the Times of Israel as the head of Hamas’s security apparatus in Khan Younis.

Related News

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) characterized the security mechanism as a clandestine Hamas unit charged with the task of identifying collaborators with Israel, guarding top Hamas officials and interests, and silencing internal opposition. The unit also collected intelligence for senior Hamas leaders to help inform their strategic planning. Jahjouh, aside from his security responsibilities, was further tasked with Hamas’s internal propaganda campaigns.

In another operation, the IDF said an airstrike had killed Ismail Abd al-Alal, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative. Al-Alal was reportedly in charge of most of the group’s weapon smuggling operations in recent years.

The new Israeli attacks are part of the renewed clashes in Gaza, after a ceasefire that had generally been in place since January collapsed. More than 400 Palestinians were reported to have been killed in recent air strikes, one of the bloodiest escalations since the war broke out in October 2023. The Israeli military also reported that ground fighting had resumed in central and southern Gaza.

Tensions still rise as Israel ramps up its military offensive, seeking to break Hamas’s network of operations, while a lasting ceasefire remains uncertain.