IDF Eliminates Hamas Nukhba Terrorists from October 7 Attack

The Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday that Israeli forces, operating with intelligence from the Shin Bet security service, killed two senior Hamas Nukhba terrorists in strikes conducted over the past week in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Both men took part in the October 7, 2023 massacre at the Re'im military base.

The first strike, carried out early this week on Sunday, killed Khazem Musa, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba commando unit within the organization's military wing. In a second operation on Monday, forces eliminated Razek Suhail Suleiman Abu Shakhma, another Nukhba terrorist who also participated in the Re'im attack and who had served as a personal bodyguard to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

According to the IDF statement, both terrorists posed an immediate threat to Israeli forces operating in the area. In recent weeks, the two had been actively advancing terror operations targeting both IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, while systematically working to rebuild Hamas's operational capabilities in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The strikes were designed to eliminate the direct threat the men represented. Security officials emphasized that the terrorists' ongoing activities, combined with their central roles in the October 7 atrocities, made them high-priority targets for elimination.

These operations are part of a broader series of targeted strikes the IDF has conducted in recent days against Hamas operatives throughout Gaza. Just in the past week, Israeli forces have eliminated several senior terrorists, including a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander who participated in the attack on Kibbutz Be'eri and a Hamas company commander involved in reconstructing the organization's tunnel network.

The IDF spokesperson stressed that forces under Southern Command remain deployed throughout the region in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue acting to remove any immediate threats. The military clarified that it will operate against any terrorist attempting to advance terror activity or rebuild the organization's capabilities, while maintaining the ceasefire with respect to the civilian population.

Yahya Sinwar, for whom Abu Shakhma served as bodyguard, was himself killed last October in a joint IDF-Shin Bet operation. Classified documents captured in Gaza revealed that Sinwar had spent years planning to establish an independent military force in Lebanon as part of a multi-front strategic vision.