In a significant development, the Israeli military has released a photo of 11 senior Hamas military leaders gathered in a tunnel beneath Gaza. The military reported that five of these leaders, were confirmed to have been killed. The group includes heads of Hamas’s aerial division, battalion commanders, a brigade commander, and a deputy brigade commander.
The rare photo released by the military was taken as the group hid in a tunnel under a residential area in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahia. It is not known who took the photo and Israel has not verified the exact date and location of when it was taken.
Israel has been targeting the Hamas leadership since the group’s attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in the deadliest day in Israeli history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a war on Hamas in an attempt to destroy the organization, putting Gaza under siege and subjecting it to a bombing campaign.
Israeli forces have killed several Hamas fighters with estimates of several thousand fighters killed, according to military commanders. They have further advanced into southern Gaza in an attempt to find and kill top Hamas leaders believed to be hiding there.
The release of the annotated photo comes at a time of heightened military action in the region. Even if Israel manages to eliminate the current leadership of Hamas, there is no guarantee that they will succeed in removing the organization from power.
The significance of the photo’s release by the Israeli military is not entirely clear. However, it comes at a time when the military has claimed to have inflicted significant damage to the Hamas leadership and its battalion. This development indicates a major escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas and could have significant implications for the future of the region.
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Photo credit www.nytimes.com
