IDF zaps sniper honcho in Deir el-Balah, Rafah locked down like it's a Passover Piñata

Dump Sweet Dump

The IDF just dropped a bombshell (pun intended): they smoked Ubayd Allah Na'im al-Hadhud Musa, the number-two guy in Hamas’s sniper squad out there. Yeah, Sunday was not his day.

The IDF’s like, “We didn’t just wing it. ‘Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.’” Translation: they dotted their i’s, crossed their t’s, and still turned Musa’s day planner to ash.

Oh, and earlier that same Sunday? The IDF and Shin Bet were playing tag-team, hitting a Hamas command center in the area. Joint op, total power move. They say, “At the time of the strike, numerous Hamas terrorists were operating from within the compound, planning terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. 

The targeted terrorists had further plans to carry out additional attacks.” So, basically, Hamas was cooking up something nasty, and Israel RSVP’d with a missile.

Over Passover, while folks were munching matzah, the IDF was busy wrapping Rafah in a chokehold. They call it “encirclement”—sounds like a fancy dance move, but it’s more like Gaza’s southern tip getting shrink-wrapped. 

On April 2, Israel started grabbing what they’re calling the Morag Corridor—some old settlement zone between Rafah and Khan Yunis. Nostalgia, but with tanks.

This whole Rafah squeeze is part of a bigger plan: take ground, push people out. Since March 18, the IDF’s been blasting evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Rafah. “Pack up, head… somewhere.” Problem is, “somewhere” is shrinking fast, hemmed in by the sea. 

Good luck finding elbow room.

Defense Minister Israel Katz isn’t mincing words. He posted on X: “The more Hamas continues to refuse, the more the IDF will intensify its operations—targeting its operatives and destroying its infrastructure.” Then he added, “Gaza will become smaller and more isolated, and more of its residents will be forced to evacuate combat zones.” 

In other words, Hamas keeps playing hardball, Israel’s gonna keep swinging for the fences.

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