Middle East tension: IDF eliminates 3 Hamas operatives, including the October 7 infiltrator

The three operatives were identified as Hazem Rami Ali Aidi, Ibrahim Mansour, and Maher Tantawi.

According to the IDF, the three were actively planning to carry out terror attacks.

Hazem Rami Ali Aidi was identified as one of the attackers who infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 assault — one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The IDF said Ibrahim Mansour was responsible for leading numerous attacks against Israeli forces, while Maher Tantawi served as an operative in Hamas’ military intelligence unit.

Meanwhile, the United Nations and the European Union have jointly warned that human development across Gaza has been pushed back by a staggering 77 years, with an estimated $71.4 billion required over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction.

The findings come from the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), conducted jointly by the UN and the World Bank.

According to the assessment, $26.3 billion will be needed in the first 18 months alone to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure, and support economic recovery.

Since the full-scale war erupted in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, physical damage across the Strip has been estimated at $35.2 billion, alongside an additional $22.7 billion in economic and social losses.

Entire sectors have been devastated, including housing, healthcare, education, commerce, and agriculture.

More than 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, over 50 per cent of hospitals are no longer functional, and nearly all schools have been either destroyed or severely damaged. Gaza’s economy has contracted by 84 per cent.

The human toll has been equally catastrophic. More than 60 per cent of Gaza’s population has lost their homes, while 1.9 million people have been displaced — many of them multiple times. Women, children, persons with disabilities, and those with pre-existing vulnerabilities continue to bear the heaviest burden.

Over two years of conflict have resulted in more than 71,000 Palestinian deaths and over 171,000 injuries, according to local authorities, with many more still believed to be trapped under the rubble.