An Israeli aircraft shot and killed a Hamas field commander on Sunday afternoon by targeting his car near the Sidra area in central Gaza City, the Ma’an news agency reported.
IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis tweeted that the deceased was responsible for the transfer of funds from Iran to the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
The report cited the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which stated: “A citizen was martyred and three others were wounded by Israeli fire at car in the center of Gaza City.” The ministry confirmed the “martyred” was Hamed Ahmed al-Khudari, 34, a Hamas activist from Gaza City.
Ma’an noted that this is the first attempt to assassinate Hamas officials in central Gaza City, during the current wave of escalation, “while a number of militants were martyred during field missions near the border.”
The IDF Spokesperson on Sunday issued a broader statement saying that “a joint IDF and Shin bet operation eliminated Hamed Ahmed al-Khudari, born in ’85, a resident of the Gaza Strip, who was in charge of large cash transfers from Iran to the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. Khudari was the owner of the money exchange company Hamed Llasrapa / Alupak, which was declared by Israel as a terrorist organization in June 2018.”
“In recent years, Khudari and his exchange company established their status as a central money exchange in the Gaza Strip have,” the statement continued. “Khudari transferred large sums of money to Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip through his money exchange company and with the help of foreign money changers and merchants, who were all aware of the designation of the company as a terrorist organization.”
“Khudari’s financial activity, which served as Iran’s spearhead in the Gaza Strip, has contributed significantly to the promotion of terrorist activity and the military buildup of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. The IDF and the Shin Bet will continue to act in order to thwart and disrupt Iran’s attempts to promote terrorist activity from the Gaza Strip by funding the terrorist groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” the statement concluded.
