Israel Kills A Mastermind Of October 7 Massacre
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s army said it has killed a mastermind behind the October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people in Israel.
“Shadi Barud, Deputy Head of Hamas’ Intelligence Directorate, has been eliminated by an [Israeli Defense Forces] IDF aerial strike” with “combat aircraft,” the IDF said in a statement seen by Worthy News.
“He took part in the planning of the October 7 massacre and countless other deadly attacks carried out against Israelis,” the military stressed. Besides those killed, “the Hamas terrorist organization” is holding more than 220 people as hostages in Gaza who were kidnapped from Israel, Israeli sources said.
The IDF added that Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, was also involved in the operation to kill Barud.
He held several roles within Hamas’ military intelligence and was responsible for the organization’s information security, according to military sources familiar with the situation. Additionally, he had reportedly been in charge of intelligence ties for the organization.
“In his previous role as the head of the offensive department at the Hamas operations headquarters, Barud had planned the attack in Israel on October 7, along with Yahya Sinwar,” the current Palestinian leader of Hamas, the IDF explained.
Barud also served as a battalion commander in Khan Yunis, the second largest urban area in the Gaza Strip after Gaza City, according to Israeli military officials. “We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas leaders and operatives responsible for the barbaric attacks,” the IDF warned.
MASSIVE OPERATION
Barud was killed as part of massive military actions in the Gaza Strip, where Israel said it conducted targeted raids in the central area and struck dozens of Hamas targets.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims 7,000 people, including children, have been killed since Israeli air strikes on Gaza began, but those figures have been difficult to verify independently.
At least four family members of a prominent Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza were killed, the news organization said on Wednesday.
The network added that the wife, son, daughter, and infant grandson of Wael al-Dahdouh, the Gaza bureau chief of Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language service, were killed at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where they had been sheltering.
Israel says it was investigating but accused Hamas of deliberately placing its fighters and weapons among civilians to use them as human shields.
As clashes continue, European Union leaders have called for “pauses” in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid to reach civilians
The United Nations’ top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, said aid is “barely trickling” into Gaza after days of warnings over rapidly depleting fuel supplies. While Israel has blocked Gaza, Egypt has also been reluctant to continuously open its border crossing with the Palestinian territory, citing fears of a massive refugee influx.
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