Jerusalem, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had killed a commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the commander as Tareq Anwar Khamis Ra’i, a company commander in Islamic Jihad’s supply unit. According to the military, he was killed in an airstrike on Sunday in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza and had been involved in advancing attacks against Israeli troops.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli military operations have killed at least 73,399 people and injured 174,310 others in the territory since October 2023.
The latest announcement came amid continued Israeli military operations targeting militant commanders in Gaza and Lebanon.
On Sunday, the IDF said an airstrike in southern Lebanon killed Abu Hassan Alaa, described by the military as a senior commander in Hezbollah’s Badr regional division. Lebanese media reported that at least four people were killed in the strike on Deir al-Zahrani.
Israel said the strike was carried out in response to a Hezbollah drone attack on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon that injured three soldiers.
The IDF also said it had killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, during overnight strikes in southern Lebanon. The military said Hassan was targeted at a Hezbollah headquarters in Ansar in Nabatieh district after an attack on Israeli forces operating in the area.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said three Israeli soldiers were seriously injured in that Hezbollah attack.
The IDF said several other militants involved in planning and advancing attacks against Israeli soldiers were also killed. It added that Hassan’s family was inside the headquarters when the strike took place.
Separately, seven people were killed in heavy Israeli airstrikes on Ansar on Saturday, according to reports. The attack was described as one of the deadliest Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the 2024 ceasefire.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,300 people in Lebanon since the latest round of fighting began on March 2.
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