Eliminated Hamas Rafah Commander was behind three major attacks killing six IDF soldiers

Nael Abu Obaida, the Hamas Rafah Brigade Commander eliminated yesterday, orchestrated three major attacks in the early 2000s that killed six IDF soldiers, according to Hamas military wing sources. The attacks included: a December 2003 tunnel explosion at Hardon outpost in Rafah with no casualties; a June 2004 tunnel blast at Orkhan outpost killing Staff Sergeant Roee Nissim and wounding five; and a December 2004 attack at JVT outpost near Rafah crossing using 1.5 tons of explosives, killing five soldiers: Sergeants Said Jahja, Adham Shahada, Aref Azbarqa, Tarek al-Ziyadna, and Hussein Abu-Leil. Hamas and Fatah jointly claimed responsibility for the latter two attacks. Abu Obaida was reportedly respected among Fatah operatives and served as a liaison between the groups before Hamas took control of Gaza.