IDF Kills Hamas Commander Involved in Holding Seven Israeli Hostages
The Israeli military announced Thursday that it killed Mahmoud Abdel Fattah Awad, a commander in Hamas's military wing, in a targeted airstrike in Gaza City last weekend. According to the IDF, Awad was involved in holding seven Israeli hostages underground in a tunnel. The hostages included female observers from the Nahal Oz military post, a resident of Kfar Aza, and three civilians abducted from various locations in the Gaza envelope on October 7.
The military stated that Awad was eliminated because he continued to advance terrorist attacks and rebuild Hamas's terror infrastructure in the Strip, systematically violating the ceasefire. The IDF clarified that Awad was directly linked to the holding of seven hostages in the underground network in the Gaza City area. While the IDF did not specify if all seven were held together at the same time or at what stage of the war, their connection reveals the tunnel network Hamas used to detain different groups of hostages. Some of the women, Daniela Gilboa, Karina Ariev, and Doron Steinbrecher, were featured together in a Hamas propaganda video in January 2024.
Beyond his role in guarding and concealing hostages in tunnels, the IDF noted that Awad posed an immediate operational threat. He had recently promoted terror plans against Israeli security forces and civilians and led efforts to restore Hamas's military capabilities despite the ceasefire. The IDF spokesperson stated that the terrorist was eliminated to remove the threat and that Southern Command forces continue to operate decisively against any terror organization in the Strip.
This assassination follows a series of operations by the IDF and Shin Bet against terrorists directly involved in holding and transferring hostages through tunnels. In July, Anis Hamdan, a Hamas company commander involved in holding and documenting hostages, was killed in Khan Younis. Previously, Mohammed Hassan Awad, involved in the abduction of the Bibas family, was also killed.
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