The military also later announced that it killed dozens of terrorists, dismantled tunnel shafts and underground tunnel routes, and located concealed weapons in civilian areas.

The Israel Air Force killed Nukhba company commander Hasan Mahmoud Hasan Hussein in a strike in Gaza City on Sunday.

The IDF stated that Hussein also took part in abducting Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, and the massacre of several Israeli civilians when he threw a grenade into a bomb shelter in Re’im, near Route 232.

As part of his role in the Bureij Battalion, he reportedly directed, led, and executed several terrorist attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip. Hussein acted alongside Muhammad Abu Atiwi. The two invaded Israel together on October 7, the IDF noted. Atiwi was killed in October 2024.

Separately, the IDF struck a high-rise building in Gaza City on Sunday, the military announced in an earlier statement.

The military reported that the building contained Hamas military infrastructure that was used to assist terror operations against IDF troops in the area.

IDF operates in Gaza City

“Prior to the strike, steps were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible, including advanced warnings to the population, the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF stated. It added that Gaza’s terrorists regularly violate international law and exploit civilian structures to use the enclave’s civilian population as a human shield.

Later, the military announced that in the past weeks, troops of the 188th Armored Brigade and the 828th Brigade operating in Gaza City had killed dozens of terrorists, dismantled tunnel shafts and underground tunnel routes, and located concealed weapons in civilian areas.

Also on Sunday, IDF troops eliminated a terror cell in Gaza. Prior to the event, soldiers identified a terrorist who attempted to plant an explosive device near an IDF tank. Shortly afterwards, the troops identified a separate terror cell, and the Israel Air Force eliminated it.

This comes as the IDF began Operation Gideon’s Chariots II to invade Gaza City. Since the start of the operation in late August, the military has struck several high-rise buildings and occupied at least half of the city.

Military estimates say more than 800,000 residents have already left Gaza City.

The IDF now controls several neighborhoods across Gaza City, including Tel al-Hawa, Al-Nadi, Zeitoun, Sheikh Ajleen, Shejaia, and Tuffah.

IAF airstrikes hit around 140 targets over the course of Saturday, including weapons storage sites, command structures, and operatives from various terrorist organizations.

In Gaza City, troops identified five terrorists who fired anti-tank missiles from a building at a patrol. No Israeli casualties were reported.

In coordination with ground forces and the brigade’s firepower unit, the IAF struck the site, eliminating the cell in what the IDF described as a rapid “closing of the circle.”