IDF and Shin Bet Say They Killed Terrorist Involved in Yagil Yaakov Abduction
The IDF and Shin Bet said they killed Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa in southern Gaza, identifying him as a Nukhba commander in Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade within Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They said he took part in the October 7 assault on Kibbutz Nir Oz and in the abduction of Yagil Yaakov, one of the teenagers kidnapped that day.
According to the agencies, Abu Mustafa was killed over the weekend. A photo collected by the IDF and released publicly in Israel today shows him inside Israel during Yaakov’s abduction from Nir Oz on October 7.
The statement said Abu Mustafa had been working extensively to rebuild the organization’s capabilities in Gaza while violating the ceasefire agreement. He also advanced multiple terror plots against Israeli forces, and recently tried to hold training exercises for militants inside Nasser Hospital so they would not be struck while operating there.
In a separate strike, the IDF said it killed Mohammed Osama Abdul Aziz Saba al-Aish, described as a Hamas Nukhba operative who tried to promote training and recruitment of additional militants.
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