The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet eliminated a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the southern Gaza Strip who participated in the kidnapping of 16-year-old Yigil Yaakov from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, the military says. The strike took place on Sunday evening; the identity of the operative has not been disclosed.
The IDF and Shin Bet reported Sunday evening that they eliminated a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the southern Gaza Strip who participated in the kidnapping of 16-year-old Yigil Yaakov from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. The operative's identity was not disclosed. The strike occurred Sunday evening, after the previously reported Friday elimination of PIJ Nukhba commander Zaki Yosef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, who was also involved in Yaakov's kidnapping. It remains unclear whether the two strikes targeted the same individual—with the military providing more precise affiliation details on Sunday—or represent two separate operatives. The desk is tracking this as a developing thread; an update is expected Monday morning clarifying the IDF's operational announcement chain.
On Friday evening, June 19, at 21:24 Jerusalem, The Zioneer first reported that Israeli security forces killed a terrorist involved in Yaakov's kidnapping. Over the following hours, the thread evolved rapidly: initial security-affiliated reports named the target as Zaki Yosef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, a Nukhba commander affiliated with both Hamas and PIJ. By 21:24, the IDF and Shin Bet confirmed the elimination, stating Abu Mustafa was a PIJ Nukhba commander who had been rebuilding terror capabilities and planning attacks from inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in violation of the ceasefire. A second Hamas Nukhba operative was also killed in that Friday strike.
As The Zioneer previously reported (Sunday, 21:08 Jerusalem), the IDF has been conducting a sustained campaign targeting senior operatives from both Hamas and PIJ in the Gaza Strip since the renewal of operations in March. A June 9 bulletin described the killing of two PIJ operatives—a company commander and a cell leader—in a southern Gaza strike. Background items also document the elimination of a Hamas cell leader on June 6 and four PIJ commanders in Gaza City on June 7, part of the broader operational tempo.
It is not yet confirmed whether the Sunday evening strike reported here is a separate operation from the Friday elimination of Abu Mustafa, or whether the military's Sunday announcement provides additional affiliation details for the same Friday strike. The IDF has not released the name or rank of the operative killed Sunday, nor the precise location of the strike in southern Gaza.
8 developments
- DevelopingIDF eliminates senior Hamas commander involved in October 7 infiltration at Kisufim
- DevelopingHundreds attend funeral of PIJ commander Zaki Abu Mustafa in Khan Younis
- DevelopingIDF drone strike kills Hamas battalion commander in Khan Younis, second operative
- StrongIDF eliminates senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders planning imminent attacks in Gaza
Source and signal
- Internal intake