Israel-Palestine war: IDF bombards Gaza's biggest refugee camp, kills key Hamas commander

Israel-Hamas war latest: The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday morning bombarded the  Jabalia refugee camp, the biggest refugee camp in Gaza. At least 50 Palestinians have been killed and 150 wounded after the Israeli airstrikes hit the densely populated refugee camp, as per the Palestinian health ministry. 

The IDF said in its post on  X (formerly Twitter) that the strike impacted "Hamas' command and control in the area and eliminated a large number of terrorists who were with Biari," adding an underground infrastructure also collapse due to the bombing. "The IDF reiterates its call to the residents of the area to move south for their safety," the X post read. 

Israel's defence forces have been active in Gaza for around four days following weeks of air bombardments as retaliation for the October 7 attacks. On October 7 this year, Hamas fighters launched a deadly attack on Israel and killed mostly civilians. Around 1,400 Israelis have lost their lives due to the attack whereas over 200 have been taken as hostages. 

During this bombardment, the IDF also killed a key Hamas commander along with other terrorists linked to the October 7 attacks on Israel. The commander eliminated by the IDF has been identified as Ibrahim Biari, Commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion.

Dozens of Hamas fighters were hiding in the same underground tunnel as Biari and were also killed when it collapsed due to the bombardment, as per IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. 

"He was very important, I would say even pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip," Conricus was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters. "And I understand that is also the reason why there are many reports of collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. We're looking into those as well," he added.

Biari was responsible for dispatching Nukhba terrorists to Israel in the October 7 attacks. He was also responsible for managing the fight against the IDF forces in the Northern Gaza Strip of late. Besides this, he was also involved in dispatching terrorists in the 2004 Ashdod Port Terror Attack, wherein 13 Israelis were killed. He also directed rocket attacks towards Israel over two decades and advanced attacks against IDF.  

Meanwhile, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray said that since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last month, many foreign terrorist organisations have called for attacks against Americans and the West and that threat is heightened further by homegrown US violent extremists. 

"The actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven't seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago," Wray said. 

(With inputs from Reuters) 

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