Hamas commander Mustafa Dalul killed in Gaza, claims IDF

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) have claimed to have killed Mustafa Dalul, commander of the Sabra Tel Al-Hawa battalion of Hamas, in an air strike.

As per the joint statement, Dalul was killed by Israel fighter jets after getting information on his precise location. Dalul has been a powerful leader of Hamas and has been manning the Hamas combat against IDF in Gaza since the ground invasion of the Israeli forces commenced on 27 October.

The IDF said it has also recovered several arms from Beit Hanun in northern Gaza during raids, including an AK-47 rifle, intelligence material, RPG, magazines, grenades and other explosives.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the army is already on the outskirts of Gaza City and it has "impressive success". He said the army is "advancing and nothing was going to stop its advancement".

The prime minister made the remarks while addressing soldiers of the IDF's Marom Brigade on Thursday. He was briefed by the unit commanders on their activities in recent weeks, including rescuing civilians and clearing terrorists from the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, as well as refresher exercises for marksmanship and sniper teams, and emergency squads from around the country, and training forces ahead of the ground incursion. 

On the other hand, several international celebrities, including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Ruffalo, Anoushka Shankar, Dua Lipa, Zayn Malik, Riz Ahmed, Rupi Kaur and others have written to US President Joe Biden, rallying for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war.

In a joint letter, they write: "We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."