Israel Strike Kills Deputy Head Of Hamas Intelligence Directorate

The deputy chief of Hamas's intelligence bureau, Shadi Barud was killed in a strike in the Gaza Strip today, according to the Israel Defence Forces.

The IDF accused Barud of working with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to prepare the attacks in southern Israel on October 7.

Prior to this, Barud led battalions in the Khan Younis region and held various positions in the terror group's intelligence directorate.

Taking to social media platform X, the IDF wrote, "Shadi Barud, Deputy Head of Hamas' Intelligence Directorate has been eliminated by an IDF aerial strike. He took part in the planning of the October 7 massacre and countless other deadly attacks carried out against Israelis."

"We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas leaders and operatives responsible for the barbaric attacks," it added.

According to the Israel Defence Forces, Barud "was responsible for planning numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians," The Times of Israel reported.

Notably, the Israeli fighter jets carried out overnight airstrikes over 250 Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip including a rocket launch site that was hidden between a mosque and kindergarten, Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

IDF has called this "another proof" that terror group Hamas uses "civilian sites for terror purposes".

The sites struck by Israel included Hamas infrastructure, command centers, tunnels, and rocket launchers, according to the IDF. The IDF said that the rocket launchers were "placed in the heart of civilian areas that fired toward Israeli territory throughout the war."

Israeli Air Force also said in a statement about attacking over 250 terror targets of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"Terrorist infrastructure, combat tunnel shafts and launchers in a civilian environment; The Air Force attacked over 250 targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the last day, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked more than 250 targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip," Israeli Air Force posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Meanwhile, the families of 224 hostages have been notified about their keen being held in the Gaza by Hamas, Times of Israel reported.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that the military has so far notified the families of 224 hostages that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip.

He said that the number is not final as the military investigates new information.

Notably, the number does not include four released hostages -- mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Ra'anan, freed on Friday night, and elderly women Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper released on Monday night, Times of Israel reported.

Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7, which killed over 1400 people and left several more injured.

After this, Israel launched a strong counter-offensive against Hamas units in Gaza strip.

According to the health ministry of Hamas, the death toll in Gaza has crossed 7,000, Times of Israel reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)