Senior Islamic Jihad commander Hussam Abu Harbeed was killed Monday in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Abu Harbeed, who commanded the terror group’s northern Gaza division, led attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians for nearly 15 years, the military said in a statement. He was also allegedly directly responsible for anti-tank missile fire that lightly wounded an Israeli civilian last week.
This is the moment we targeted Islamic Jihad Northern Division Commander in Gaza, Hussam Abu Harbid.
As an Islamic Jihad commander for 15 years, he was behind rocket launches, shootings, & anti-tank missile attacks on Israel.
He won't be committing any more terrorist attacks. pic.twitter.com/hbwFsSjjq3
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 17, 2021
Islamic Jihad confirmed the reports, calling Abu Harbeed “our blessed martyr.”
The terror group often works alongside Gaza’s Hamas rulers, and their armed wings are closely aligned.
Israel has long sought to eliminate the leadership of armed Palestinian organizations in Gaza, including through targeted airstrikes. Over the past week, at least three Islamic Jihad commanders and a senior Hamas figure were killed in Israeli strikes.
Also on Monday, the IDF announced that IDF fighter jets had struck the main operations center of the Hamas internal security forces in northern Gaza.
“The operations center was a central part of Hamas’ terror infrastructure. We provided advance warning to those inside & allowed sufficient time to evacuate,” the IDF tweeted.
IDF fighter jets struck the main operations center of the Hamas internal security forces in northern Gaza. The operations center was a central part of Hamas' terror infrastructure.
We provided advance warning to those inside & allowed sufficient time to evacuate. pic.twitter.com/uJ9LQsRAHo
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 17, 2021
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