TEL AVIVI, November 6. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that a Hamas battalion commander was killed overnight in the Gaza Strip.

"Overnight, an IAF fighter jet, directed by ISA and IDF intelligence, killed the Commander of Hamas’ Deir al-Balah Battalion in the Central Camps Brigade, Wael Asefa. Asefa, together with others commanders of the Central Camps Brigade, was responsible for sending Hamas "Nukhba" terrorists into Israeli territory during the barbaric massacre on October 7th. Following the massacre, he planned additional terrorist attacks," the IDF said.

According to the IDF, Asefa was serving a prison term from 1992 to 1998 for his involvement in terror attacks on Israeli communities.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory, killing many Israelis living in the settlements near the border and abducting more than 200 people, including children, women and the elderly. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.