Vos Iz NeiasIDF Contractor Killed In Gaza Building Collapse, 70% Of Strip Now Under Israeli Control
JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Raed Abu Al-Qian, a civilian contractor with the IDF, was killed by a building collapse in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the military announced, according to a Jerusalem Post report.
The contractor, a resident of Hura, had been working on engineering projects in Gaza on behalf of the Defense Ministry. The IDF noted that the victim’s family has been notified.
On Tuesday, defense officials told Walla that the IDF had achieved operational control over 70% of the Gaza Strip. A security source noted that the area under Israeli control could grow over the coming months, while “Hamas is allegedly dragging its feet, entrenching itself in the field, recruiting operatives, and preparing for war with Israel.”
The defense officials told Walla that the Southern Command conducts daily assessments across the Gaza Strip, combining IDF and Shin Bet intelligence to coordinate operational responses to emerging threats.
On Tuesday night, the IDF struck four rocket launchers across the Gaza Strip that were set up by terror groups during the ceasefire, the military says.
“The launch posts that were destroyed were set up by the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip in the recent period, after the ceasefire came into effect,” the military says, adding that they were armed for attacks on IDF troops and Israel, “and therefore posed an immediate threat.”
On Wednesday, the Walla site reported that Israeli companies have begun negotiations regarding the large-scale demolition of Gaza’s structures. Sources described the negotiations as unprecedented in scope.
“The Board of Peace has a desire to advance the reconstruction process, but it is not meeting reasonable timelines or the scope they want,” a security source told Walla.
“We are talking about enormous amounts of destruction that they want to turn into recycled construction materials, to transport a large part of it, and at the same time to level the area in order to build new homes on it, and all this is happening even before Hamas has been disarmed and the Strip has been demilitarized,” the source added.