Senior Hamas Commander Killed; Israel Says Next Phase Will Be Different

Israeli soldiers in the Beeri area near the border with the Gaza Strip

Reuters reported on October 17 that Hamas' Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigade said an Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander of the force in the Gaza Strip.

The person killed was senior Hamas commander Ayman Nofa, a senior member of the military council of the brigade in charge of central Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said the force is readying for the next phase of its campaign against the Gaza Strip, but plans may not be as widely expected for a ground offensive.

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"We are preparing for the next phase of the war. We have not said what it will be. People are talking about a ground offensive. It could be something else," he said at a regular press conference on October 17.

In a related development, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that "no one can stop" forces opposing Israel if it continues to bombard Gaza in response to Hamas' surprise attack.

Iran has maintained close contact with its regional allies since Hamas militants overran the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians. Israel responded with airstrikes that killed at least 2,750 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians.

Khamenei threatened that if Israel continues to "commit crimes, Muslims and resistance forces will lose patience, and no one will be able to stop them." According to him, no one should think that someone like Iran "can stop those resistance forces."

Regarding the international effort, Reuters reported that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to visit Egypt, amid the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip that has not improved. He is expected to travel to Cairo on October 18 and meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and other officials.

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According to CNN, quoting a spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), stores in Gaza will run out of available food in "less than a week", while retailers will not be able to replenish from wholesalers due to "widespread destruction and unrest".

Bread supplies are running low, with only one of the five flour mills in the Gaza Strip operating due to a lack of fuel and electricity, a spokesman warned.

In another development, CNN quoted information from the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Tel Aviv on October 17. Mr. Scholz was welcomed at the airport by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

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