Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Oct 14: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that it had killed a Hamas commander in an airstrike in Gaza City.

The commander was identified as Momen Ahmad Salameh Ay, who allegedly held Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza City and served as an aide to commanders of Hamas's Gaza Brigade.

According to the Israeli military, he had recently advanced attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and attempted to restore Hamas's operational capabilities.

The IDF said it had taken measures to minimise civilian casualties before carrying out the airstrike on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate statement, the IDF said infantry soldiers operating in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon had located a ready-to-detonate explosive device, a Hezbollah position and additional weapons used by the group.

On Friday, the IDF had said it killed three militants in Gaza City in aerial strikes carried out on Thursday.

The Israeli military identified two of them as Hassam Walid Hassan Abu Al-Ata, allegedly a commander in the rocket unit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's military wing, and Magdi Moein Yousef Al-Ayoubi, also a member of the group's military wing.

The third militant was identified as Muhammad Aja, a company commander in Hamas's military wing.

According to the IDF, the three militants had recently advanced attacks against Israeli soldiers and worked to restore the operational capabilities of their respective groups.

In another statement, the IDF and Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said they had dismantled four weapons storage facilities belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad across the Gaza Strip.

The facilities contained dozens of weapons and other military equipment, including rockets, explosive devices, mortars and Kalashnikov rifles, the statement said.