Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel’s military has been targeting commanders of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The military has been attacking commanders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the current conflict. Military sources said the operations were based on information from Military Intelligence and the Israel Security Agency.

“At the top of the list [of targets] are those in charge of rocket cells or production,” a source said.

The military was said to have killed a series of Jihad commanders in the Gaza Strip. They were identified as Akram Sha’ar, who directed Jihad rocket fire from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Other targets were identified as Mahmoud Ali Ziada, Jihad commander for the northern Gaza Strip; Shaben Dahduh, Jihad chief in Gaza City, and Said Mamer, the movement’s commander in the southern town of Rafah. The sources said all of the targets were killed.

Some of the fighters were said to have used their homes as command and control centers. They were identified as Hamas’ Attiya Abu Nakira, Taysir Mubashir and Mahdi Kura.

The sources also identified targets from Hamas’ Izzedin Kassam military wing. They included Kassam chief Mohammed Deif, whose home was damaged in an Israel Air Force strike.

The homes of Hamas political leaders were also targeted in air strikes. They included former Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar, Jamila Shanti, Fathi Hamas and Ismail Askar.

In all, about 40 homes were targeted, including Yehya Sanwar, a founder of Hamas, and Assad Dalis, a Hamas financier. The sources said many of the Hamas leaders were not believed to have been at home during the Israeli strikes.

  ‘Top of the list’: Israelis pick their fights, Akram Sha’ar, Izzedin Kassam, Khan Yunis, Mahmoud Ali Ziada, target Gaza’s rocket commanders