IDF Strikes Kill Two Hamas Militants in Deir al-Balah, Including October 7 Nukhba Operative; Aircraft Hit Mosque and Desalination Plant in Sheikh Radwan

Overnight into Monday, August 24, 2026, the Israeli military said it struck and killed two Hamas militants in the Deir al-Balah area of central Gaza, identifying one as Mohammad Abd al-Nasser Jabr Abu Asaad, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba force who took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The IDF said the pair had recently been planning to 'advance terror attacks' against Israeli troops and Israeli civilians and were attempting to rehabilitate the organization while 'systematically violating the ceasefire.' Separately, Israeli aircraft struck the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, hitting a mosque and a water desalination plant, according to Palestinian reports; no casualty figures for the Sheikh Radwan strike were immediately available. The strikes came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security assessment at IDF Central Command with Defense Minister Israel Katz on what his office called 'security challenges' in the West Bank, a day after Netanyahu and Katz warned they would intensify Gaza strikes and order new evacuations over kite, drone and balloon launches from the territory.