Who is Ibrahim Biari, Hamas commander claimed to have been eliminated by Israel?

Israel on Wednesday claimed to have eliminated top Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, said to be among those responsible for the October 7 attacks on Israel.

According to the Israel Defence Forces, its fighter jets carried out strikes and damaged Hamas’s command and control in Jabalia and eliminated a large number of militants who were with him.

“Additionally, underground terrorist infrastructure collapsed following the strike. The IDF reiterates its call to the residents of the area to move south for their safety”, the IDF said in a post on social media platform X.

However, Hamas has denied the presence of its commander in the area.

Who was Ibrahim Biari?

Ibrahim Biari was the Hamas commander of Central Jabaliya Battalion, stationed in Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

According to the IDF, Biari oversaw all the Hamas operations in northern Gaza Strip since the militant group started its ground offensive. He was also believed to be involved in multiple attacks on Israel in the past decades.

As per the CNN report, IDF had blamed Biari as one of the Hamas commanders responsible for sending militants to Israel for carrying out coordinated strikes on October 7.

“He was very important, I would say even pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip,” IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus was quoted by Reuters as saying.

According to IDF, Biari was also involved in sending Hamas militants to the 2004 Ashdod Port attack in which 13 Israelis were killed.

In another development, the IDF said,”Over the past day, IDF troops operated in a Hamas terrorist stronghold in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. The stronghold was used for training and execution of terrorism activities. During the ground activity, the troops eliminated approx. 50 terrorists, as well as destroyed entrances to terrorist tunnels and weapons”.