The Israeli army announced on Saturday the killing of Hamas air force chief Issam Abu Rukba in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military revealed in a post on Platform X that Abu Rukba “was responsible for the marches, gliders, aerial detection and defense of Hamas.”
For his part, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee explained in a post on
Adraee reported that Abu Rukba was responsible for managing the Hamas organization’s drone systems, parachutes, and air reconnaissance and air defense systems.
The Israeli army spokesman added that Abu Rukba “participated, by virtue of his position, in planning and carrying out the horrific and bloody massacres in villages and towns around the Gaza Strip on October 7.”
Abu Rukba’s participation, according to the same source, was represented by “directing terrorists who infiltrated the territories of the Gaza envelope on board parachutes, as well as conducting drone strikes against IDF positions adjacent to the border of Gaza.”
On October 7, Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization, launched the most violent attack inside Israeli territory, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, including women and children.
After the attack, the Israeli army began a bombing campaign on Gaza, controlled by Hamas, imposing a siege on the Strip, inhabited by around 2.4 million people. Hamas’ Ministry of Health announced the killing of 7,326 people, the majority of whom were civilians, including women and children.