IDF strike in Gaza kills Hamas finance chief, Netanyahu and defense minster say

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday eliminated Muhammad Abu Alwan, who headed the financial operations of the Hamas terror group, in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement. Netanyahu and Katz praised the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) for the “precise operation” in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. “We will continue to hunt down Hamas commanders and operatives, target its sources of funding and destroy its terrorist infrastructure ,” the statement said. 3 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Likud campaign rally at Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel. Getty Images “We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength, nor will we stop until Hamas no longer exists in Gaza,” it added. The Board of Peace on Tuesday night hailed the progress made in Gaza over the past year, saying that the work ahead to implement the updated 15-point roadmap for peace and transition in Gaza “will not be easy.” But with the help of international partners, including the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, and others, “we are confident that we can succeed and turn the plan’s vision into reality,” the international body tweeted. Explore More Rock star dead at 79 after heart attack during farewell tour Iran’s president claims country has been ‘victim of terrorism’ at UN — despite funding terror groups worldwide Model found dead in ex’s car hours after texting panicked warning about him U.S. President Donald Trump praised the progress made as well, during his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. A year ago, the war in Gaza was still raging “brutally,” the hostages were still held captive in Hamas tunnels and “there was no end in sight,” Trump stated. But world leaders took the first steps toward a diplomatic solution at the previous UNGA, and “changed everything,” the president continued. 3 Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visit Israeli troops in the Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) area near the Syrian Golan Heights in Syria. Anadolu via Getty Images The war ended, lives were saved, and the remaining hostages returned home, “both living and dead; every single one of them,” said Trump. He also thanked the U.N. Security Council for unanimously adopting Resolution 2803, a comprehensive 20-point peace plan for Gaza, and for approving the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump and tasked with overseeing and advancing the U.S. president’s proposal. On Monday, the Board of Peace said that the time has come for all parties involved in the war to “fulfil their commitments and refrain from actions that could undermine the ceasefire or return Gaza to conflict.” 3 Displaced Palestinians gather amid the rubble of a heavily damaged building being used as a shelter in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP via Getty Images The Board reaffirmed its commitment to accomplish demilitarization and deradicalization in Gaza; an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip; an effective Palestinian civilian and security administration, also known as a technocratic governing body; and reconstruction with sustained humanitarian assistance. “The political choice is now clear… UNGA provides an opportunity to consolidate the international community behind one agreed framework, and to demonstrate that diplomacy can deliver lasting peace, security and a better future for Palestinians and Israelis,” the Board of Peace noted. Katz: Hamas is planning to kidnap Israeli soldier or civilian Defense Minister Katz issued on Tuesday a stark warning to Hamas against attempting to kidnap a soldier or a civilian, during an address at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. “If even one Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted, the city of Gaza—with its homes and terrorist towers—will be evacuated southward of its one million residents,” Katz said, adding that Gaza City “will be dealt with in the same manner in which Rafah and Beit Hanoun and 70% of the Gaza Strip were dealt with, until he is returned.” He further pledged not to withdraw from the so-called Yellow Line that runs through the Gaza Strip—where the IDF is deployed—as long as Hamas remains in Gaza and the Strip does not become a demilitarized zone.