IDF takes out Hamas commander, Hamas claims destroyed Israeli tank

The commander of Hamas's Deir al-Balah Battalion of the Central Camps Brigade, Wael Asefa, was killed overnight on Sunday by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet said on Monday.

The strike, which was conducted by an IAF fighter jet, operated on intelligence provided by the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate in carrying out the operation.

The Israeli security apparatus said that Asefa was one of the commanders of the Central Camps Brigade who ordered the invasion of Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on October 7. 

The Hamas leader planned subsequent attacks on Israel in the wake of the historic massacre.

Previously, Asefa had been imprisoned between 1992 and 1998 for his involvement in terrorist attacks against Israeli communities and IDF personnel, the IDF and Shin Bet noted.

After his release, he continued to be a central figure in planning and orchestrating attacks on Israeli civilian and military forces.

Hamas claims it destroyed an Israeli tank

Earlier on Monday, Hamas released a video in which they claim to have hit an Israeli tank in Northwest Gaza with an Al-Yassin 105 rocket.

The video was published on their Arabic-language Telegram channel.

The in-video text claims that Hamas hit two Israeli targets, with the second having been destroyed before smoke rose from the reported target.

The video claims that Israel subsequently removed the destroyed mechanisms.

The IDF has not yet commented on the purported incident.

Hamas also said that the terrorist organization's Al-Qassam Brigade militants were engaged with Israeli forces in the Sultan area in the northwest of Beit Lahia.