The IDF and Shin Bet eliminated several terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip during the past week, including three key commanders, in response to a serious violation of an agreement in West Rafah where militants fired at an IDF armored vehicle earlier this week, according to a joint statement from their spokesmen released over the past hour on January 17, 2026. The statement detailed the eliminations carried out throughout the Gaza Strip on Thursday, following the Rafah incident. Among those killed were Muhammad Hamed Muhammad Kholi, commander of Hamas's operations department in the central camps; Ashraf Adnan Muhammad Khatib, commander of the rocket and missile array in the central camp area of Palestinian Islamic Jihad; and Said Khaled Ali Abd al-Rahman, responsible for sniping in Hamas's Deir al-Balah battalion in the central camps. Muhammad Kholi played a significant role in Hamas assessments for the October 7, 2023, attack and directed the 1995 terrorist attack at the Nahal Oz checkpoint that killed Israeli soldier Yevgeni Gromov, the IDF and Shin Bet stated. The other commanders held specialized operational roles in their respective organizations' central camp activities. This military action occurs amid ongoing Gaza governance discussions, where previous reports noted Hamas control over much of the territory, as stated by Israeli sources earlier on January 17, 2026.
