The military identified Abd al-Rahman Ziyada, a Nukhba commander who infiltrated on October 7 and looted an IDF vehicle, as killed in last week's strike in the Shati area. A separate strike the same day in Khan Younis killed Kamal Najjar, head of the Hamas tunnel unit there, the IDF said Sunday.
The IDF on Sunday identified two senior Hamas operatives killed in separate precision strikes last Wednesday in the Gaza Strip: Abd al-Rahman Maher Abd al-Karim Ziyada, a Nukhba Force cell commander, and Kamal Muhammad Hamdan Najjar, head of the Hamas tunnel unit in the Khan Younis area. The military said both posed immediate threats to its forces and had recently been advancing attack plots against troops. The identifications were released at 09:07 Jerusalem, confirming earlier Israeli media reports that first broke the elimination but did not name the targets.
At 09:07 Jerusalem, the IDF issued a statement naming Ziyada, who infiltrated Israel on October 7, 2023, looted an IDF vehicle and was filmed celebrating near a burning tank. The same statement also named Najjar. The military had initially only reported the killing of an unnamed Oct. 7 infiltrator; by the third version of the bulletin, both commanders were identified. The Zioneer's earlier coverage noted Ziyada had been filmed during the massacre. The eliminations were first reported Sunday morning by Abu Ali Express and later confirmed by the military.
As The Zioneer reported on Thursday, June 25, the IDF this week also killed another Oct. 7 infiltrator, Akram Abu Mazi, who had been attempting to rebuild Hamas capabilities. The military has continued to target operatives who participated in the attack and later returned to militant activity. The drop of casualty names is part of a broader campaign against Oct. 7 perpetrators.
The IDF did not specify the exact time of the strikes on Wednesday, nor did it release video or additional evidence corroborating the identifications beyond its own statement. The precise location of the tunnel unit chief's elimination in Khan Younis was not detailed.
4 developments
- DevelopingIDF eliminates senior Hamas commander involved in October 7 infiltration at Kisufim
- StrongIDF confirms elimination of second Nukhba commander who abducted Yagil Yaakov on October 7
- StrongIDF eliminates Hamas Nukhba terrorist who held hostage Omer Shem Tov
- DevelopingAir Force eliminates Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza strike
Source and signal
- Internal intake