Home of eliminated Islamic Jihad terrorist
Home of eliminated Islamic Jihad terroristREUTERS

A small Israeli army drone aircraft entered the home of Islamic Jihad terrorist Baha Abu al-Ata just before an airstrike that eliminated the terrorist, sources within Islamic Jihad claim.

According to a report by i24NEWS Wednesday, officials in the terror group say that moments before Israeli warplanes bombed his home, killing arch terrorist Baha Abu al-Ata and his wife early Tuesday morning, a small drone entered the building, apparently to verify Abu al-Ata’s location before the IDF launched the strike.

The report also claimed that a week and a half ago, following a rocket attack by Islamic Jihad on Israel, an Israeli drone aircraft was spotted over Abu al-Ata’s home, with drones also spotted over the homes of three other senior Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF and Shin Bet internal security agency had reportedly been monitoring Abu al-Ata, who led Islamic Jihad’s Al Quds Brigades in the Gaza Strip, for an extended period of time.

At 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, Israeli security forces found an opportunity to eliminate the veteran terrorist with a minimal risk of collateral damage.

Speaking Wednesday in his first public statement on the hostilities with Gaza since he took office Tuesday, Defense Minister Bennett called the IDF operation which eliminated Abu al-Atta ‘essential’ to Israel’s security.

“Before dawn yesterday, the IDF carried out an operation essential to Israeli security. Baha Abu al-Ata was the terrorist mastermind behind Islamic Jihad, which works against Israel’s citizens. He was eliminated. We did that yesterday, and we won’t hesitate to do it in the future.”