Israel-Gaza crisis: IDF says key Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari killed

"IDF fighter jets eliminated Ibrahim Biari, Commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion. Biari was one of the leaders responsible for the murderous terror attack on October 7th," IDF posted on X.

IDF said several other terrorists who were present with Biari were eliminated.

"Additionally, underground terrorist infrastructure collapsed following the strike," IDF said.

The IDF asked residents of the area to move south for their safety.  

Meanwhile, UN humanitarians have said Gaza has become a “graveyard” for children with thousands now killed under Israeli bombardment, while more than a million face dire shortages of essentials and a lifetime of trauma ahead.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, who has been visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to families in Gaza over the phone from east Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what they have endured since the start of Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ deadly 7 October attacks is “beyond devastating”.

“When an eight-year-old tells you that she doesn’t want to die, it’s hard not to feel helpless,” he wrote on social platform X.

Reportedly more than 3,450 children have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday (October 31, 2023).

Another 1,000 children have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said that it is “almost unbearable to think about children buried under rubble with very little possibility for getting them out”.