The IAF on Monday night attempted to eliminate three senior Hamas battalion and brigade commanders.
According to a Galatz report, however, the three commanders - named as Samer Tabesh, Ayman Mabhouh, and Samer Abu Daqqa - took shelter among the refugees' tents in the humanitarian area.
The attack took place in the Al Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, the report added. A defense source said, "There is a high level of confidence in the intelligence that the three were at the scene of the strike."
The IDF confirmed: "Overnight, following IDF intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on a number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis."
"Among the terrorists struck was Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, Head of Hamas’ Aerial Unit in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, the terrorist Osama Tabesh, Head of the Observation and Targets Department in Hamas' Military Intelligence Headquarters, and Ayman Mabhouh, another senior Hamas terrorist, were struck during the operation.
"These terrorists were directly involved in the execution of the October 7th massacre and have been recently operating to carry out terror activities against the IDF and the State of Israel."
The statement stressed: "Prior to the strike, extensive intelligence gathering was conducted, as well as continuous aerial surveillance in the hours leading up to the strike, which confirmed the presence of the terrorists in the area alongside additional terrorist operatives."
"According to an initial review, the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, which has consistently broadcast lies and false information throughout the war, do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike.
"Despite the extensive measures taken by the IDF to enable the Gazan population to move away from combat zones, including by designating a humanitarian area, the Hamas terrorist organization continues to embed its operatives and military infrastructure in the humanitarian area and systematically use Gazan civilians as a human shield for its terrorist activities."