(Oct. 3, 2026 / JNS) The Israel Defense Forces killed two operatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Saturday.

They were targeted in separate strikes in Gaza City, the IDF said.

The first was Ahmed Mahmoud Harb Ramlawi, a commander in the rocket array of the Shejaiya Battalion in the “military” wing of PIJ, according to the army.

The second was Munir Ibrahim Masr, head of an anti-tank missile cell in PIJ’s “military” wing.

The two men have been involved of late in restoring the PIJ’s capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF said.

On Thursday night, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) killed a Hamas sniper in a strike in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza, the security forces said.

The terrorist, identified as Tamer Hamaida, had advanced plans to carry out shooting and other attacks against Israeli troops and civilians throughout the war, according to the joint statement.

Israeli forces remain deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and “will continue to act to eliminate any immediate threat,” the statement said.

Earlier in the week, the IDF and Shin Bet killed in Gaza a top Hamas terrorist who commanded the captivity of numerous Israeli hostages during the war, the security bodies said following an extensive intelligence investigation.

Izz al-Din Bikh, commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade, oversaw the captivity of hostages including Hisham al-Sayed and Mia Schem, as well as Amit Buskila, Shani Louk, Tamir Nimrodi, Michel Nisenbaum and others who were killed in captivity or whose bodies were held in Gaza, according to the Israeli security forces.

Bikh also participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and helped establish Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force in northern Gaza. Before becoming brigade commander during the war, he commanded Hamas’s West Jabalia Battalion and headed military intelligence for the Northern Gaza Brigade.

The IDF and Shin Bet described his elimination as an important “closing of the circle” and vowed to continue pursuing terrorists who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.

Reports: IDF targets Hamas leader

Meanwhile, Ynet cited Arab media as reporting on Saturday that the IDF attempted to kill Yahya Sinwar’s potential successor as head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in an airstrike before dawn.

Ali al-Amoudi is considered to be one of the terrorist organization’s most senior leaders after a series of killings during the war have left Hamas bereft of top officials.

Al-Amoudi is a member of Hamas’s political bureau and was previously held in Israeli prison, according to Ynet.

Before the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, he headed the organization’s information and media department. He was apprehended by Israeli forces in 2004 and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2011, al-Amoudi was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange agreement.

The IDF did not comment on these reports.

IDF: 170 killed Gazan ‘journalists’ were terror operatives

On Thursday, the IDF revealed that 170 Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip during the war who were presented as journalists or media workers were also operatives in terrorist organizations.

Following what it described as an extensive investigation, the IDF said 118 of the 170 served in Hamas’s “military wing” and 49 in Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Two were affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees and one with the Mujahideen Brigades.

Seventeen of the 170 participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, according to the military.