The IDF confirmed that Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Nukhba commander from the Khan Younis Brigade who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and participated in the abduction of Yagil Yaakov, was eliminated. Mohammed Osama Abd al-Aziz Saba al-Eish, a Hamas Nukhba operative, was also killed in the same operation. Abu Mustafa later advanced attacks against Israeli troops and exploited Nasser Hospital for terrorist activity, the IDF said.
The IDF on Monday formally confirmed the elimination of Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Nukhba commander in the Khan Younis Brigade, and named him as one of the operatives who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 and participated in the abduction of 12-year-old Yagil Yaakov. The military also identified Mohammed Osama Abd al-Aziz Saba al-Eish, a Hamas Nukhba operative, as having been killed in the same operation. The confirmation, issued at midday Monday, adds operational detail to a strike that was first reported late on Friday, June 19.
The elimination was first reported by The Zioneer at 21:24 Jerusalem on Friday, June 19, when security-affiliated sources said a drone strike in Khan Younis had killed a PIJ commander. Over the following hours the military released successive statements: by 21:24 that evening the IDF had named the target as Zaki Abu Mustafa, identified his role in the abduction and said he had been rebuilding terror capabilities and planning attacks from inside Nasser Hospital. The funeral was held the next day, June 20, with hundreds attending in Khan Younis. Monday's statement — version 12 of The Zioneer's thread — adds the second operative's name and reiterates that Abu Mustafa later conducted attacks against Israeli troops and exploited Nasser Hospital for terrorist activity. Throughout the thread the affiliation shifted between Hamas and PIJ; Monday's statement attributes Abu Mustafa to PIJ.
As The Zioneer previously reported, the elimination belongs to a series of targeted strikes against Nukhba commanders involved in the October 7 massacre. On June 7, the IDF eliminated Sakr Abu Karim, a Hamas Nukhba cell commander who led the infiltration into Kibbutz Kisufim.
What remains open is whether the second operative, Mohammed Saba al-Eish, held any command role or specific function in the October 7 attack. The military has not detailed his activities beyond noting that he was a Hamas Nukhba operative killed in the same operation.
9 developments
- DevelopingIDF eliminates senior Hamas commander involved in October 7 infiltration at Kisufim
- DevelopingIDF strike kills third Hamas operative tied to hostage holding, security source says
- DevelopingIDF drone strike kills Hamas battalion commander in Khan Younis, second operative
- DevelopingHundreds attend funeral of PIJ commander Zaki Abu Mustafa in Khan Younis
Source and signal
- Internal intake