Israel on Friday launched fresh offensive against Hamas in Gaza, killing at least five Palestinians, even as the militant group publicly executed 18 suspected spies for the Jewish State following the killing of its three top commanders.
Hamas gunmen executed 11 Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel at an abandoned police station in Gaza earlier in the day, Hamas security officials said. Shortly afterward Hamas shot seven more Palestinians in front of hundreds of people in a central Gaza square, witnesses said. Hamas warned the same punishment will be imposed soon on others.
The executions came a day after Israel killed three top Hamas commanders —Mohammed Abu Shamala, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar who were key to Hamas operations including tunnel construction. Hours after the targeted strike on the Hamas commanders, Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of the Hamas regime in Gaza, said, “After a senior operative is killed, we immediately continue on our path without hesitating or stepping back”.