Israel eliminated the brother of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad military commander on Friday in an effort to lure the commander to the funeral and target him, Kan 11 reports.

Sources in Gaza told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that Taher Abd al-Wahed was killed in an airstrike after leaving the tent where he had been staying in the Nuseirat refugee camp and heading toward a nearby mosque.

According to the sources, the intended target was his brother, a highly senior commander in Islamic Jihad’s military wing who has survived four Israeli assassination attempts during the war and since the ceasefire took effect.

The first reported attempt took place on October 24, 2023, while the commander was staying in an apartment in Nuseirat. Eighteen Gazans were killed in the strike, and the commander was seriously wounded but later recovered.

Another attempt was made on October 25, 2025, after the ceasefire had taken effect. According to the sources, a missile was fired at the commander’s cellphone, but it was being carried at the time by a courier used to relay messages. The courier was wounded, while the commander, who was standing only several meters away, survived.

The commander ultimately did not attend his brother’s funeral. A further strike was carried out when several of his associates approached the funeral site, killing seven Gazans, including two people who worked for him.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)