The Israeli army announced on Friday the killing of Ayman Shawida, the deputy commander of the Shujaiya battalion in Hamas. The army spokesperson for Arab media, Avichay Adraee, stated in a post on the platform "X" that "the army, based on intelligence from the General Security Service (Shabak) and the Intelligence Directorate, eliminated Ayman Shawida in an airstrike."
The statement added that "Shawida previously held a position in the operations branch of Hamas and directed the attack on October 7, 2023. During the conflict, he participated in combat with the Shujaiya battalion and directed several strikes against Israeli forces." It was reported that "the army also killed Obada Abu Hayn, a commander in Hamas who was considered an important operative in the Shujaiya battalion and played a significant role in the fighting."
On Wednesday, the Israeli army announced that forces from the paratroopers brigade, Brigade 7, and the "Yahalom" unit (a special engineering unit) completed their mission that lasted about two weeks in the Shujaiya area, led by the 98th Division. The army's statement mentioned that "the forces destroyed two underground tunnels and, in total, eight tunnels were destroyed. Along the tunnel routes, weapons, laptops, and communication equipment were found."
