An Israeli Air Force strike in the Gaza Strip killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Ahmed al-Dalu, who participated in the October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Kfar Aza last year, the Israel Defence Forces said on Monday.

Al-Dalu, a member of the Iranian-backed terrorist organisation's Military Intelligence Unit, was eliminated in an airstrike directed by IDF ground troops and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officers, the military said.

According to the IDF, "an additional terrorist was eliminated alongside him. Throughout the war, al-Dalu was involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks against the citizens of the state of Israel”.

Kfar Aza was the scene of some of the worst atrocities on October 7. About 10 per cent of its 900 residents were killed or taken hostage during the Gazan invasion of the north-western Negev, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to the Strip.

The IDF also said on Monday that over the past day its 252nd “Sinai”Division (a reserve force) and 162nd "Steel Formation" Armored Division killed "many" terrorists in close-quarters fighting and by calling in IAF strikes. In addition, they destroyed terrorist infrastructure.

Nahal Brigade infantrymen, operating under the command of the 143rd "Gaza" Division, killed Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives in the Strip's southernmost Rafah area, the IDF said.

"Over the past day, forces identified a terrorist squad that was operating from a military building where mines were stored that were intended to harm our forces," the statement added. "Forces directed an IAF aircraft that attacked and eliminated the terrorists and destroyed the weapons."

Israeli ground forces entered Gaza on October 27 last year, following a weeks-long air campaign in response to the Hamas massacre three weeks earlier. Jerusalem's stated goals for the war are to destroy Hamas as a military and governing force in the Strip, ensure that it cannot threaten Israel again and return all hostages.

Returning the 101 remaining captives has become the "most important mission" in Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared during a visit a few days ago to the site where IDF soldiers killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.

The IDF death toll in Gaza since the start of the ground operation stands at 368, while the figure on all fronts since October 7 is 780.