An Israeli airstrike late Monday killed Hatem Alramery, the head of Hamas’s Emergency Bureau.
The Emergency Bureau, a Hamas entity, is tasked with maintaining public order and managing civil affairs within the Strip’s municipalities. Alramery’s involvement in terror activities, including rocket launches as part of Hamas’s Maghazi Battalion, led to his targeting, according to the IDF.
In a concerted effort to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities over the weekend, the IDF has reportedly been targeting and destroying various military assets across Gaza, including compounds and launch sites. Notably, recent airstrikes included attacks on Hamas rocket launchers strategically located within a humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis, adjacent to a UN distribution center. Advance evacuation of the area prevented civilian casualties.
Despite Israel having withdrawn most of its ground forces from the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that a date has been set for an invasion of Rafah.
“Victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. This will happen. There is a date,” Netanyahu declared. “We are constantly working to achieve our goal, primarily releasing all of our hostages and achieving total victory over Hamas,” he added.
Four Hamas brigades are believed to be operating in Rafah, a city now home to an estimated one million Arab civilians displaced by the war.
