Tel Aviv, July 6 -- Israeli soldiers eliminated Ramzi Ramadan Abd Ali Saleh, commander of Hamas' Naval Force in the northern Gaza Strip, who was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City, the Israel Defence Forces said on Sunday.

"Saleh was a significant source of knowledge in the Hamas terrorist organisation, and in recent weeks was involved in planning and advancing maritime terrorist attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip."

Also killed with Saleh were Hisham Ayman Atiya Mansour, Deputy Head of Hamas' mortar shell array cell, and Nissim Muhammad Suleiman Abu Sabha, who operated within Hamas' mortar shell array.

The IDF stressed that steps were taken ahead of the strike to mitigate the risk to civilians, including aerial sur...