Israel's military and domestic security service said two Hamas commanders were killed in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip, describing both men as immediate or continuing threats to Israeli forces. The identities, roles and circumstances were presented by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet; the published report did not include confirmation from Hamas, Palestinian health authorities or independent observers.
The agencies said Ahmad Yahya Ibrahim Batsh died in a strike in northern Gaza on Sunday. They identified him as a cell commander in Hamas's Nukhba Force and alleged that he had directed attacks against Israeli soldiers during the war, including in the days before the strike. The Israeli statement also linked the Nukhba Force to the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
In a separate operation in southern Gaza on Monday, the military said it killed Hamouda Abu Daqa, whom it described as a commander in a Hamas intelligence unit. According to the IDF account, Abu Daqa gathered information on Israeli troop movements to help plan and conduct attacks and posed an immediate danger to forces in the area.
The IDF said precautions intended to limit civilian harm preceded the strikes, including aerial surveillance and precision-guided weapons. The report provided no independent casualty assessment and did not say whether anyone besides the two named men was killed or wounded. It also offered no evidence with which to evaluate the military's description of the precautions or the alleged operational roles.
Israeli troops remained in Gaza under a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, ending two years of war, according to the source. The military said it would continue acting against what it considered immediate threats to soldiers and civilians. That formulation framed the strikes as enforcement within the ceasefire rather than a return to general hostilities.
The two announcements followed other Israeli claims of targeted killings. The IDF said an overnight strike in northern Gaza killed Fadi Falah Ashour Daghmash, whom it called a commander in Hamas's military training department. It alleged that he had overseen Nukhba training before October 2023 and later worked to rebuild Hamas's capabilities. The military also reported striking five people who were trying to restore underground infrastructure west of the ceasefire line, naming Hudhayfah Hussein Abdullah al-Hawajri as one person killed.
Those additional cases supply context for a pattern of Israeli operations, but all came from the same military account. The central verified point is therefore limited: Israeli authorities announced that Batsh and Abu Daqa had been killed and stated why they were targeted. Their deaths, positions and alleged activities remained uncorroborated in the evidence provided.
