IDF killed Hamas commander in airstrike, arrested 37 wanted suspects in overnight raid

An Israeli army humvee vehicle moves near stationed artillery howitzers at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on November 3, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

The IDF said Friday morning that its troops killed a Hamas commander in an overnight airstrike in Gaza.

IDF fighter jets struck terror infrastructure and killed Mustafa Dalul, the Commander of the Sabra Tel al-Hawa Battalion, among other Hamas terrorists, the IDF said.

An IDF spokeperson said Dalul took a "central part in managing the combat against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip." Dalul also held a number of positions in the Hamas battalion in recent years.  

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"In addition, IDF fighter jets and artillery, directed by ground troops, killed a number of terrorists who operated against the ground troops. During searches in the area of Beit Hanoun, the troops located weapons, intelligence material, an AK-47 rifle, submachine gun, magazines, grenades, explosive devices, RPG, communication means, and maps," the spokesperson added.

Also, overnight, IDF troops arrested 37 wanted persons in an overnight raid. Of those, about 17 had associations with Hamas, an IDF spokesperson said.

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The IDF also said its soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion and the Armored Corps’ 53rd Battalion clashed with multiple terrorist squads inside Gaza overnight. 

"The terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at the troops, activated a number of IEDs and attempted to climb onto one of the troop’s vehicles," the IDF said. "Soldiers on the ground directed aircraft and artillery strikes—neutralizing the terrorists and their threats."