The Israel Defense Forces updated the death toll of weekend operations in Gaza, confirming the killing of two commanders who infiltrated Israel on October 7. Muhammad Sa'id Ahmad Nimrouti, a Hamas platoon commander who held hostages in the terror group's tunnels, was eliminated in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip. Mu'awiya Suleiman Saqr Ayadi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad platoon commander who infiltrated Kibbutz Be'eri, was killed in a separate strike in central Gaza.
The IDF this afternoon confirmed the identities of two platoon commanders killed in weekend Gaza strikes, both of whom infiltrated Israel on October 7. The confirmation, published after 16:00 Jerusalem by the military spokesman, names Muhammad Sa'id Ahmad Nimrouti, a Hamas platoon commander, and Mu'awiya Suleiman Saqr Ayadi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad platoon commander. The announcement follows a series of updates The Zioneer tracked since Wednesday afternoon: initial reports at 14:16 Jerusalem described the elimination of two commanders involved in the October 7 infiltration of Kibbutz Be'eri; subsequent versions added that one of the operatives was holding hostages at the time, and later identified the two by name. By 15:34 Jerusalem, The Zioneer had published a bulletin confirming the strikes with partial names. The new IDF statement now provides the full names and specifies Ayadi's affiliation with the Islamic Jihad Central Camps Brigade.
As reported across the thread, Nimrouti held hostages in Hamas tunnels after the October 7 infiltration, and Ayadi participated in the massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri and was involved in planting explosives. The military assessed both as posing an immediate threat to troops and civilians.
The elimination continues a pattern of targeted strikes against the October 7 chain of command, as The Zioneer reported on June 7 regarding the killing of senior Hamas commander Sakr Abu Karim, who led the infiltration into the Kisufim area. The Zioneer also reported on June 5 that over 125 terrorists were eliminated in Lebanon and 13 in Gaza, including an October 7 perpetrator.
It remains unverified whether other operatives who held hostages alongside Nimrouti were also struck in the weekend operations, and the IDF has not detailed the precise method of confirmation for the two commanders' identities beyond the military's own statement.
5 developments
- StrongIDF kills two Hamas cell commanders in central and northern Gaza strikes
- ConfirmedIDF kills two Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives in southern Gaza strike
- DevelopingIDF Eliminates 4 Islamic Jihad Commanders in Gaza Strike
- DevelopingIDF eliminates senior Hamas commander involved in October 7 infiltration at Kisufim
Source and signal
- Internal intake