Hamas broke the ceasefire with Israel, first by deliberately delaying the return of all of the bodies it is known to have found. And then one of its snipers shot at an IDF soldier standing behind the Yellow Line in Gaza, killing Yona Efraim Feldbaum. It was not only Israel that was outraged. The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, speaking in New York at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations, called the recent Hamas attack on Israeli soldiers a “violation” of the ceasefire, describing it as “very disappointing and frustrating.”

The IDF, with Hamas having goaded it beyond endurance, decided in response to pound Hamas positions and to hit individual terrorists, too, hitting high-value targets that it had been waiting for a suitable moment to destroy. More on those twenty-five terrorists they killed, including two battalion commanders, and several who took part in the Nukhba forces that led the way on October 7, 2023, can be found here: “IDF kills elite Nukhba terrorists, Hamas leaders, October 7 participants in Gaza strikes.” Jerusalem Post, October 29, 2025:

Following the violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement by Hamas and prior to its renewed enforcement, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Wednesday attacked dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Strip, including two battalion-level terrorists, two deputy battalion-level terrorists, and 16 company-level commanders.

The Israel Air Force attacked the terrorists under the guidance of the IDF and Shin Bet.

Also among the targets attacked were observation posts, a weapons production site, rocket and mortar launch positions, and underground tunnels.

I’d call that quite a satisfying result, all in a day’s work. The IDF took the occasion to deliver a devastating blow to the terror group, reminding Hamas that they must observe the ceasefire, or else. For now, they seem to have learned their lesson, but who knows when the jihadis will again seek to harm Israelis, no matter what the cost to themselves?

Furthermore, in the past 24 hours, the IDF hit various weapons depots and production sites, rocket and mortar launch positions, and underground tunnels (a particularly important target, for the IDF has concluded that Hamas still has 60% of its tunnels intact).

The sniper’s bullet that killed Yona Efraim Feldbaum was all that the IDF needed — not an excuse but a moral prompt — to wipe out 25 Hamas terrorists, including several battalion commanders belong to the Nukhba forces who led the killers into Israel on October 7, 2023. The jihadis who were killed were at the top of the IDF’s list of those still needing to be eliminated when the ceasefire started.

George Washington Plunkitt, the Tammany leader in the Gilded Age, famously said “I seen my opportunities, and I took ‘em.” The other day, for the most justified of reasons, the IDF did the same in godforsaken Gaza.

AUTHOR

 Hugh Fitzgerald

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