Kelly Campa, Siddhant Kishore, Annika Ganzeveld, and Nicholas Carl

Information Cutoff: 2:00 pm ET

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it killed Hamas Khan Younis Brigade Commander Rafe Salamah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13. The IDF conducted an airstrike in the al Mawasi humanitarian zone targeting Salamah and Hamas’ top military commander, Mohammad Deif, on July 13. The IDF described Salamah as one of the “masterminds” of Hamas’ attack into Israel in October 2023. Salamah helped plan multiple other attacks against Israel throughout his career, including the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. Salamah commanded the Khan Younis Brigade after replacing senior Hamas military leader Mohammad Sinwar in 2016. The IDF said that Salameh was responsible for all rocket attacks from the Khan Younis area into Israel. The IDF called Salamah’s killing “a significant blow” to Hamas’s military capabilities in the Gaza Strip. Sources from Hamas confirmed Salamah’s death.

The IDF said on July 14 that it is still assessing whether the airstrike killed Hamas’ top military commander, Mohammad Deif. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said that it is too early to confirm Deif’s death during a press conference on July 14. An anonymous Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal that there is reason to believe Deif was killed but the IDF is still assessing. Halevi alleged that Hamas is attempting to hide the ”results” of Israel’s airstrike. Hamas Political Bureau member Khalil al Hayya denied Deif’s death on July 13. An Israeli military correspondent reported Deif was deeply involved in commanding Hamas fighters during the war but rarely ventured above ground, spending most of the war underground in Khan Younis. Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu stated that killing Deif would advance Israeli objectives to destroy Hamas and send a “deterrent message” to Iran and its proxies during a press conference on June 13.

Key Takeaways:

• Gaza Strip: The IDF confirmed that it killed the commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade in an airstrike targeting senior Hamas officials in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF said that it is still assessing whether the airstrike killed Hamas’ top military commander, Mohammad Deif.

• West Bank: A Palestinian fighter conducted a car ramming and shooting attack in central Israel, injuring four Israeli soldiers.

• Lebanon: Lebanese Hezbollah conducted nine attacks into northern Israel.

• Yemen: The Houthis claimed two drone and missile attacks targeting a commercial vessel.

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ISW–CTP has launched an interactive map of Israeli ground operations to accompany our daily campaign assessments of the Israel–Hamas war. This product complements the daily static maps that ISW-CTP produces with high-fidelity and, where possible, street-level assessments of the war in Israel.

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