Gaza: IDF kills Hamas operative linked to building collapse that killed 21 IDF soldiers

The IDF Spokesperson and the Shin Bet said Monday evening that an armed Hamas cell in central Gaza was struck as it advanced attack plans against IDF forces. The militants approached the Yellow Line and planned to carry out attacks against IDF troops in the immediate term.

As part of the strike, Yousef Ibrahim Mahmoud Bashiti, a Hamas operative who was part of the cell that fired anti-tank missiles at buildings where IDF forces were operating and at a tank crew securing them, was killed. As a result of Bashiti's actions, in January 2024, 21 IDF soldiers were killed in a building that collapsed.

Additionally, the strike killed other militants, including a Nukhba operative, a cell leader and an officer in the Hamas police, and three more Hamas militants. According to the IDF, eliminating Bashiti represents important closure regarding one of the most severe terror schemes carried out against IDF forces during the war.

As a reminder, the deadly incident in January 2024 occurred 600 meters from the Israeli border, in which 21 reserve soldiers were killed. According to the operational investigation, at least two militants, who were hiding in an orchard near the building where the soldiers were, fired an RPG at the structure. At that time, 19 soldiers were in and around the building—an engineering unit preparing the structure for demolition that had placed explosives and mines inside, and a reserve force providing security.

As a result of the missile strike, the explosives detonated, causing the building to collapse and killing those inside. At the same time, an IDF tank securing the force detected the launch and tried to open fire toward the source. The tank crew did not manage to fire before the tank sustained a direct hit from another RPG, and two additional soldiers were killed. Searches conducted to locate the attackers found nothing, and they managed to flee, possibly via a tunnel shaft.