Jerusalem

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday (Oct 10) that a senior Hamas official had been killed in an airstrike overnight. IDF said that it killed Hamas's minister of economy and another senior member in drone strikes in the Gaza Strip. 

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According to IDF, the senior official has been identified as Jawad Abu Shamala, the Minister of Economy of the military group's political arm. 

The military said that Shamala managed the terror group's funds, and "earmarked funds for financing and directing terror in and outside the Gaza Strip". 

IDF identified the second person it killed as Zakariya Abu Moammar, who was the head of the terror group's internal relations. The IDF said that Moammar was a confidant to Hamas's Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar. 

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"He was a senior Hamas decision-maker and coordinator between terror groups in the Gaza Strip," IDF said. 

Also read: Israel vs Hamas war: A look at firepower in Israeli arsenal 

IDF also said that Moammar was part of the Hamas "senior forum, involved in the organisation's decision-making and the planning of numerous terror activities against the State of Israel". 

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The IDF also said that it launched massive airstrikes against a neighbourhood of Gaza City, targeting more than 100 sites. 

The neighbourhood is dubbed by the army as al-Furqan, after a mosque in the area. Israel claimed that it is a "nest of terror" used by Hamas to launch attacks against it. 

Israel retaliated with air strikes after fighters from the Palestinian militant group stormed Israeli towns on Saturday (Oct 7) in an assault launched from the Gaza enclave, killing more than 1,000 Israelis, mostly civilians. They also took dozens hostage. 

Also read: Russian President Vladimir Putin says Israel-Gaza conflict 'an example' of US failure in Middle East 

Watch: Hamas threatens to kill hostages over air strikes on Gaza 

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Israel has ordered a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip and the ambassador to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that nothing would stop them from crushing Hamas. 

"We'll do everything needed in order to make sure that those people will not threaten and will not hurt our citizens again," Ambassador Amir Hayek told Reuters at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"We need to make sure that everyone will understand that if anyone will ever think about doing such things and putting Israeli citizens at risk, he will pay the full price and will not be able to do it again."

The victims of the Hamas attacks were overwhelmingly civilians, gunned down in their homes and on the streets.

"I don't know any sovereign country in the world that could have been in this situation and continuing things as usual without smashing the terrorists," Hayek said. 

"We are talking about kids, women, elderly people, families. These people have been murdered, not for something they did. But for who they are," he further said. 

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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