Israel continues to carry out targeted killings of suspected members of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas who are believed to have been involved in the October 7, 2023 massacre.
The Israeli military said on Monday that two Hamas members had been killed overnight in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Both were accused of entering Israeli territory and taking part in the attack.
According to the military, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force was also killed on Sunday in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel reported last month that Israeli authorities believe more than 2,000 suspected participants were still in the Gaza Strip. In total, around 5,000 terrorists are said to have infiltrated Israel on the day of the massacre.
Around 2,700 have since been killed, just under half of them during the attack itself, the newspaper reported. A further 300 suspected perpetrators are reportedly being held in Israeli custody.
The Israeli military said those killed overnight had recently been planning attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians and had attempted to rebuild Hamas, in violation of the ceasefire agreed in October. The claims could not be independently verified.
On October 7, 2023, the attackers killed around 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 250 others as hostages to Gaza.
The unprecedented raid triggered the war in Gaza. Since then, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the territory, more than 73,400 Palestinians have been killed, around 1,300 of them since the start of the ceasefire.