IDF Eliminates Hamas Commander Behind October 7 Attack

Israeli military forces, operating jointly with the Shin Bet security service, have killed Mohammed Mahmoud Murshed al-Qadi in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. Al-Qadi commanded a company within Hamas's elite Nukhba force, the commando unit responsible for leading the October 7 attacks into Israel.

According to a joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet, al-Qadi was the Nukhba company commander who directed the assault on the Sufa military outpost during the October 7 massacre. Throughout the subsequent war, he was involved in holding Israeli hostages captive in the Rafah area.

In recent weeks, al-Qadi had been leading training operations for Hamas operatives and working to rebuild the organization's military capabilities. He was also actively planning terror attacks against IDF forces and Israeli civilians, in systematic violation of the current ceasefire agreement.

The strike that killed al-Qadi was carried out to eliminate the immediate threat he posed. IDF forces under Southern Command remain deployed throughout the area in accordance with ceasefire arrangements and will continue operations to remove any immediate threats.

In recent days, elite Shin Bet and IDF units successfully captured Hamas's head of general security in Gaza during a complex operation in western Gaza City. That operation combined ground forces with extensive aerial strikes.

Additionally, several days ago the IDF eliminated Talal Mustafa Salah Badawi, a commander in Hamas's military security department for the Gaza City Brigade. Badawi had also been planning terror attacks against Israeli forces and civilians in systematic violation of the ceasefire.

The IDF continues intensive operations to eliminate immediate threats and prevent Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities. Operational activity is ongoing throughout the Gaza Strip, while maintaining ceasefire agreements and responding decisively to any violations.