IDF says it killed 3 Hamas operatives over weekend as it keeps up Gaza strikes

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it was keeping up its strikes on Palestinian terror operatives in Gaza, having killed three over the weekend, while also publishing a document purporting to demonstrate Hamas’s strategy earlier in the war of putting Gaza’s civilians at risk to save itself. A Hamas commander and two other operatives were killed in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the military announced. A strike in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City on Saturday killed Abdullah Mohammed Khamis Jaber, identified by the IDF as a Hamas operative involved in manufacturing weapons and a key member of the terror group’s arms production division. A separate strike in the Tuffah area on Saturday killed Majed Ahmed Mustafa Sabbag, a Hamas cell commander, the military said. The IDF said that another strike in northern Gaza’s Jabalia killed Amer Bashir Mohammed Khourani, a member of a Hamas engineering battalion. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms The three operatives had recently been involved in advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and attempting to restore Hamas’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military added. *צה"ל חיסל ראש חולייה ושני מחבלים מהזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס* צה"ל תקף במהלך סוף השבוע, במרחב דארג' תופאח שבצפון רצועת עזה וחיסל את עבדאללה מוחמד חמיס ג׳אבר, מחבל בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס. Advertisement במסגרת תפקידו, ג׳אבר סייע ליצירת אמצעי לחימה שונים, היווה גורם משמעותי… pic.twitter.com/ZgiFwrKV7M — צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 19, 2026 Later in the day, Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza reported that at least one person was killed in a drone strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northwestern Gaza City. The IDF didn’t immediately comment. #فيديو | شهيد ومصابون جراء استهداف طائرة مسيّرة للاحتلال حي الشيخ رضوان شمال غربي مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/Lvw5L9g6sd — شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) October 19, 2026 Advertisement Hamas-affiliated media says 2 children killed by IDF Hamas-affiliated media reported on Sunday that two children had been killed by IDF forces in separate incidents in the Strip. Masak al-Dalu, a 7-year-old girl, was reportedly shot dead by IDF troops near the al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza, while a boy named Tamer Soboh — whose age was not reported — was reportedly shot dead by the IDF west of Beit Lahiya in the Strip’s north. The Times of Israel could not independently verify the reports. The IDF has yet to comment on either incident. The latest strikes came as the IDF in recent months has increasingly targeted terror operatives in Gaza, including numerous terrorists who took part in the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces. According to the military, many of the recent strikes focused on Hamas operatives involved in building up the terror group’s force, as well as secret headquarters and Hamas’s civil control mechanisms in the Strip. Document allegedly shows Hamas willingly endangered Gaza civilians On Monday, the army published what it said was an internal Hamas document detailing the terror group’s efforts to plant bombs near displaced persons camps in the Gaza Strip during the war. The document, written in April 2024, “shows that Hamas’s engineering department proposed planting explosive devices around displaced persons camps and detonating them as IDF troops approached, placing the civilian population in the camps at risk, to create panic as a smokescreen for the escape of its operatives,” the military said. This infographic published by the IDF on October 19, 2026, shows an April 2024 Hamas document. (Israel Defense Forces) The IDF said the document was part of Hamas’s “preparations to protect its leadership and operatives and evacuate them from areas where the IDF was expected to operate, while endangering and exploiting the civilian population in the area, fully aware that these actions were likely to cause direct harm to civilians.” Advertisement “In the document, the Hamas terror organization proposed an additional method of planting explosive devices along routes used by residents of the Gaza Strip, as part of an attempt to delay the advance of IDF troops in the area,” the military said. Another proposal in the document included firing “stun grenades into the camps to create chaos and panic, to allow Hamas terrorists hiding in the area to flee.” “This is further evidence that the Hamas terror organization is willing to endanger the lives of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip to advance its terrorist activities,” the IDF added. UN agency slashes assistance to Gazans The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday that it would end monthly assistance to 500,000 people in Gaza due to a funding shortfall, while warning that needs remain acute. “As of this month, we’re now cutting half a million people from the number of people that we’re assisting,” Shaun Hughes, the WFP country director, told AFP. Palestinians receive food donated by the World Food Programme at a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, October 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) The reductions bring down to 1.1 million — still roughly half of war-battered Gaza’s population — the number of Palestinians receiving WFP aid either in food or cash assistance. “This has been a lifeline. But now, rather than being able to sustain and scale up that assistance, we’re actually having to reduce it,” Hughes said. “And that’s not because we don’t have humanitarian access to deliver food; that’s because we don’t have funding.” In addition to reducing the number of people who receive rations, the WFP has been forced to shrink the content. Families receiving food assistance will now get only one food parcel instead of two and a smaller bag of wheat flour, the WFP said in an operational note. Advertisement The 75,000 families who receive assistance in cash will see the amount reduced from 1,250 to 750 shekels ($400 to $240) per month. The WFP is funded by governments as well as private donors. It has seen a sharp drop in resources, including after US President Donald Trump returned to power and drastically slashed contributions to UN agencies as well as bilateral aid. The agency says it needs about $450 million over the next six months for its operations in Gaza and the West Bank, but in 2026 it has only received about half the usual financing for the West Bank and Gaza. In September, the agency also reduced by half the number of aid recipients in the West Bank from 400,000 to 200,000. Israel has ramped up longstanding criticism of the United Nations since the Gaza war, accusing the world body of bias and perpetuating dependency among Palestinians. Nurit Yohanan and AFP contributed to this report. Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world. If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism , please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting. — Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist Support our work Support our work Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You're a dedicated reader We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE , as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel Join Our Community Join Our Community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Four Israeli soccer team officials arrested on suspicion of ‘systematic’ fraud 2 Fatal mass casualty incident at Canadian military base sparks major fire, leaves dead and injured 3 Rioters loot stores in Milan during cost-of-living protest featuring Palestinian symbols 4 Washington Post photojournalist beaten by settlers slams Netanyahu after surgery on nearly detached finger 5 Tesla unveils new ‘flying’ car, but consumer rollout likely still years away 6 Explainer 2026 Israeli elections: What you need to know 7 Inside story Arab states see hawks ruling Israel no matter who wins vote, but still sense room for change 8 Bennett, Liberman lay out plans to pass laws against Netanyahu immediately after election read more: Israel & the Region Gaza Strip IDF Israel Defense Forces Hamas Israeli strikes on Gaza 2023-2025 Israel-Hamas war UN World Food Programme If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY Already a member? Log in here close popup Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community Sign in or Register Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles Email address * Please use the following structure: [email protected] Continue Or Continue with By joining you agree to the terms and conditions Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition back close popup Register to continue Email address * Change REGISTER Or Continue with back close popup Log in to continue Email address * Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.. Continue back close popup Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community Sign in or Register You are currently registered. Please join The Times of Israel Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits Only ToI Community members can comment below articles Email address * Password * Incorrect password. Please try again or choose an option below. Forgot your password? / Send me a login link Continue Sign in without joining Or Continue with close popup Check your email We sent an email to you at . It has a link that will sign you in. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. back close popup Join The Times of Israel Community Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits. Email address * Please use the following structure: [email protected] JOIN NOW! close popup Thank you! Now check your email You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.