Israeli Air Force Reportedly Strikes West of Khan Younis; Two Reported Killed

The Israeli Air Force reportedly struck west of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip late Thursday. According to Palestinian reports, two people were killed. Earlier on Thursday, November 12, the IDF and Shin Bet said they had targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, and other Hamas terrorists at Nasser Hospital during the preceding night. The agencies said Abu Ismail directed attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and was responsible for holding numerous hostages during the war. In their statements about that earlier operation, the IDF and Shin Bet said Hamas had turned part of the hospital into a command site used to support attacks and rebuild the brigade. They described weapons storage, command-and-control rooms, observation and shelter positions, and interrogation and torture by Hamas’s internal-security and intelligence personnel. The agencies said advance warnings, precision munitions and aerial surveillance had been used before the hospital strike to reduce harm to civilians.