IDF kills most senior Islamic State terrorist in the Gaza Strip

Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Abu Zubaida directed ISIS’s strategic activities across Judea and Samaria.

Over the past week, the IDF, under the direction of the Southern Command and the Intelligence Directorate, killed Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Abu Zubaida, head of the Islamic State’s Palestine District in the Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Friday. The operation took place in the Bureij area.

Abu Zubaida held the most senior position within the ISIS terrorist network in Gaza. He directed the group’s strategic activities across Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. According to military intelligence, he also oversaw the transfer of funds and combat equipment into Gaza, and his operatives were involved in fighting against IDF troops during the war.

His death occurred amid intensified IDF activity throughout the Gaza Strip. In recent days, the IDF has escalated operations in Gaza City, targeting dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites. Southern Command is reportedly preparing for what officials have described as a final push to dismantle the remaining Hamas battalions embedded in several key neighborhoods.

IDF suspends humanitarian pauses in Gaza

As part of this escalation, the IDF announced the suspension of humanitarian pauses in northern Gaza, stating that ceasefire arrangements would no longer apply in Gaza City. The change signaled the beginning of an open-ended military operation in the area, where troops have been conducting raids, gathering intelligence and executing precision strikes on buildings used by Hamas and other armed groups.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces recovered the body of hostage Ilan Weiss in Gaza City. The remains of another, as-yet-unidentified soldier were also recovered during the same operation. The effort followed a complex intelligence-gathering process involving the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters, Unit 504, and the Southern Command, based on information obtained from detainees interrogated by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

The discoveries came as IDF troops intensified operations in central Gaza, particularly in Shujaiyya and Zeitoun. Forces carried out both surface-level and subterranean raids. Engineering units destroyed tunnels, and dozens of gunmen were either killed or captured in close-quarter combat.