IDF Kills Palestinian Who Led Oct. 7 Assault on Kibbutz Alumim

JERUSALEM  (JNS) – The Israel Defense Forces over the past month eliminated more than 20 terrorists in Gaza, including those involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, the military announced on Sunday.

Among those killed was Yousef Mahmoud Muhammad Juma’a, head of a Hamas cell that raided Kibbutz Alumim on Oct. 7. Juma’a was responsible for planning and executing attacks against Israel and IDF troops during the conflict, according to the military.

Earlier on Sunday, the IDF struck a high-rise building used by Hamas in Gaza City, where terrorists had planted intelligence-gathering equipment and set up observation posts to monitor IDF troop movements and facilitate attacks against forces.

“The tower of cards: Gaza’s changing skyline,” Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted on Sunday.

A day earlier, Katz wrote: “The hurricane continues to hit Gaza. The terrorist tower Burj al-Nur collapses and residents are forced to evacuate and move south.

“We are continuing to stymie observation and terrorist infrastructure and pave the way for the maneuvering forces—until Hamas is subdued and all hostages are released,” he added.

Before Sunday’s strike, the IDF took steps to minimize civilian harm, including issuing advanced warnings, using precision munitions and conducting aerial surveillance.

“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, brutally exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the IDF said.

The Israel Defense Forces is continuing widescale strikes on terrorist infrastructure across the Strip, hitting around 500 targets as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots II” amid a ground offensive into Gaza City.

In the Jabaliya area and on the outskirts of Gaza City, IDF forces dismantled Hamas assets and killed multiple terrorists over the past 24 hours, the military said on Sunday.

Troops were also active on the outskirts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, where they killed about 10 Hamas terrorists, according to the IDF.

Over the weekend, Israeli forces continued operations in northern Gaza, eliminating terrorists and dismantling anti-tank missile positions. Several Hamas structures used for surveillance and other activities were also destroyed.

In southern Gaza, troops dismantled observation posts and killed several Hamas operatives who posed threats to their forces.

Meanwhile, in preparation for receiving displaced residents in southern Gaza, the IDF is expanding Crossing 147 to increase the flow of aid into the designated humanitarian area.

The project includes paving new routes and enlarging the goods-handling zone. Once completed, the crossing will be able to accommodate 150 trucks a day—triple its current capacity—with an emphasis on food shipments.

Over the past week, more than 1,200 humanitarian aid trucks—primarily carrying food—entered Gaza through Israeli crossings, the IDF said.

In total, nearly 1,900 aid trucks were collected and distributed from the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings during the past seven days.

According to IDF estimates, some 300,000 Palestinians have evacuated Gaza City over the past few weeks.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday stressed that Israel is still seeking to end the war based on U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest truce proposal and the principles set by Israel’s Security Cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 14 outlined the Cabinet’s goals as the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all 48 remaining hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control and establishing an alternative civilian administration in the enclave.