Israeli army kills major Hamas money exchanger in Gaza

Jerusalem(The Uttam Hindu): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it killed Saeed Ahmad Abed Khudari, allegedly a key Hamas money exchanger, in Gaza City. According to the IDF, Khudari, who was struck and killed on Thursday, was "a key terror financing facilitator within Hamas." During his role as a money exchanger, Khudari was the head of the Al Wefaq Co. fund, which was declared a terrorist organisation by the Israeli government "due to its involvement in the funnelling of money to terrorist entities," the IDF said on Friday.

According to the IDF, Khudari was "involved in numerous financial transfers to Hamas' military wing" over the years, specifically after October 7, 2023, reports Xinhua news agency. His involvement increased following the killing of his brother Hamed Khudari in 2019, who had also served as a primary financial conduit for Hamas' military operations, the IDF said.

In two other statements on Friday, the IDF said it had killed Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior military commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, who was allegedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of Israelis, and Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Al-Bardawil, an alleged propaganda and psychological operative in Hamas' military wing.

Israel ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas on March 18 and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on the Palestinian enclave. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Effie Defrin said the army had entered "a new stage" in its offensive in Gaza. The renewed Israeli attacks have so far killed at least 1,249 Palestinians and injured 3,022 others, Gaza health authorities said Friday.