IAF strike kills Hamas leader behind Nir Oz massacre

Kibbutz Nir Oz suffered some of the heaviest losses on Oct. 7, with a quarter of its residents killed or taken hostage.

By JNS

An Israeli Air Force strike killed Abd al-Hadi Sabah, a Hamas operative responsible for leading the deadly assault on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in the northwestern Negev, the IDF announced on Tuesday night.

Sabah was a Nukhba Force platoon commander within Hamas’s Western Khan Yunis Battalion. He operated from a shelter in a designated humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Throughout the current war, Sabah orchestrated attacks against Israeli Defense Forces troops. His death was achieved through a coordinated effort between the Israeli Air Force, the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

The military highlighted that measures were taken before the strike to minimize civilian casualties.

The IDF and Shin Bet reiterated their commitment to targeting all individuals involved in the Oct. 7 assault, which resulted in some 1,200 fatalities, thousands of injuries, and the abduction of 251 individuals, of whom 96 remain in Gaza, along with four others taken earlier.

Kibbutz Nir Oz suffered some of the heaviest losses on Oct. 7, with a quarter of its residents killed or taken hostage.