Gaza fighting resumes after IDF soldier's release: Israeli airstrikes kill Hamas ‘journalist’ & senior commander

Immediately after a short truce to allow Hamas to release Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resumed fire in the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, eliminating several significant Hamas figures.

Walla News cited security officials who said that artillery fire and airstrikes against terror targets resumed within minutes of Alexander’s release.

This came despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructing a negotiating team to travel to Qatar, in a last attempt to reach a hostage deal before the IDF begins its large-scale “Gideon’s Chariots” offensive.

The officials emphasized that if the negotiations don’t reach a quick breakthrough, the security cabinet would greenlight an offensive that will advance on several locations simultaneously, as Israeli officials have vowed.

The report added that engineering activity to establish humanitarian aid distribution centers as part of the offensive has already begun on the ground.

Meanwhile, the IDF announced Tuesday morning that the Air Force struck “significant Hamas terrorists who were operating from within a command and control center” located in the Nasser hospital of Khan Yunis.

The compound was used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, the IDF said, adding that senior Hamas official Ismail Barhoum, who was eliminated last month, had operated from the same compound.

According to Palestinian reports, Monday’s strikes killed Hassan Eslaiah, the “journalist” who had joined Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasions and was employed as a freelancer by CNN, AP, and other outlets.

According to a report by the investigative website Honest Reporting, several freelance journalists accompanied Hamas terrorists and civilians during their rampage and were likely informed of the terror group's plan to invade and carry out the brutal attack beforehand.

Last year, survivors of the Nova Musical Festival massacre and families of murdered victims filed a lawsuit against AP for supporting terrorism "through payments that they made to known agents of Hamas.”

Eslaiah was in the hospital after another IDF strike a month ago had wounded him.

In addition to Eslaiah, the strikes killed Ahmad al-Qudra, a commander at the rank of Colonel who headed Hamas’ Internal Security Apparatus, which is responsible for the violent suppression of anti-Hamas demonstrations.

“Senior Hamas officials continue to use the hospital for terrorist activity, through cynical and brutal use of the civilian population in the hospital and its surroundings,” the IDF noted, adding that “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”