Israeli occupation forces disguised in women’s clothing killed a senior commander of a Palestinian armed group during a special operation in southern Gaza early Monday, according to local sources.
The commander, Ahmad Sarhan, 44, was a leading figure in Al-Nasser Salah Al-Deen Brigades—the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. He was shot dead in his home in Khan Younis after an Israeli unit infiltrated the area, witnesses told Al Manassa.
Nine Israeli operatives dressed as displaced women reportedly entered the house in a vehicle appearing to carry humanitarian aid. A gun battle erupted inside the home, ending in Sarhan’s killing. His wife and 12-year-old son were detained as the force withdrew under Israeli air cover.
“At around 6:30 a.m., we heard heavy gunfire on Street 5,” said an eyewitness who asked not to be named. “Then we saw people dressed like women escaping with a woman and a child. They sped away in a vehicle that looked like it belonged to a displaced family, as Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations at once.”
One of those airstrikes targeted the security post at the northern gate of Nasser Medical Complex, partially destroying a warehouse for medical supplies and knocking out internet access in nearby areas. This included the camp for journalists, according to a journalist on the scene.
“We had no idea what was going on,” said the journalist. “There were helicopters firing and simultaneous shelling across the city. Later, we learned it was to cover the withdrawal of the special forces unit.”
Belongings left behind by the Israeli ocupation forces outside the home of Al-Nasser Salah Al-Deen Brigades commander Ahmed Sarhan in central Khan Younis after his assassination. May 19, 2025.“An Israeli special force used a vehicle marked with UN logos and carrying aid parcels to sneak in through the eastern parts of the city,” the journalist recounted. “They made their way to Street 5, reached Sarhan’s home, and opened fire.”
Al-Nasser Salah Al-Deen Brigades later confirmed Sarhan’s death, calling him “a resistance leader martyred while confronting Israeli special forces.”
In a statement, the group vowed to continue “the path of jihad until the liberation of the land and the expulsion of the occupation.”
Following the raid, medical sources told Al Manassa that seven bodies arrived at Nasser Medical Complex, including Sarhan and a child shot during the Israeli withdrawal. Five more bodies were recovered from various sites hit by airstrikes during the operation.
Meanwhile, a source in Gaza’s Ministry of Health told Al Manassa that the death toll across the territory rose to 51 on Monday alone, with dozens injured in intensified Israeli bombardments targeting southern, central, and northern areas of the Strip.
Israeli airstrikes on Monday struck multiple civilian areas across Gaza, hitting a UN-run school sheltering displaced families in Nuseirat, residential homes in Gaza City, and neighborhoods in northern towns like Beit Lahia. Children were among the casualties as families sought refuge in schools and private residences.
Rescue efforts were hampered by ongoing bombardments, with civil defense teams struggling to reach flattened buildings. Medical facilities in Gaza City, including Al-Shifa and Baptist hospitals, reported receiving multiple bodies and dozens of wounded from across the Strip.
For the first time in months, the Israeli occupation army issued evacuation orders covering over half of Khan Younis. Residents in neighborhoods east of Salah Al-Din Street and in the city center were told to move to the Al-Mawasi area on the western outskirts. The army warned of an “unprecedented” operation aimed at destroying resistance infrastructure.
Local sources said the city has become overcrowded in recent weeks as tens of thousands fled there from Rafah. Over 400,000 people are believed to be affected by the new evacuation order.
“They tell us to go to Al-Mawasi, but the bombing doesn’t stop there either. We don’t know where to go or how to protect our children,” said Mahmoud Abu Daqqa, a resident of eastern Khan Younis.
Hussein Abu Teir, a resident of Abasan, stood firm in the face of evacuation orders. “After two years of war, I won’t abandon my home to live under plastic sheets,” he said. “If survival is written for us, we’ll survive here.”
But for many others, survival meant flight. Families poured westward from Khan Younis, joining thousands already crammed into flimsy tents and makeshift shelters by the coast, exposed to airstrikes and the elements.
“We live in a tent on the street. There’s no safety—neither here nor where we came from,” said Hasneya Mansour, a mother displaced from Rafah. “We’re just trying to protect our children, but death surrounds us on all sides.”
The Israeli occupation army resumed its assault on the Gaza Strip on March 18, renewing a war it launched on October 7, 2023. The escalation followed Israel’s refusal to uphold a ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19 and was intended to culminate in a full exchange of detainees held by Hamas and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
