IDF kills Hamas commander who held 7 hostages in Gaza tunnel

Awad was involved in holding Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran and Eitan Mor in an underground tunnel in the Gaza City area.

By World Israel News Staff

The IDF has eliminated a Hamas commander who took part in holding seven Israeli hostages captive in an underground tunnel in Gaza City, the military announced Thursday.

Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad, a commander in Hamas’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza City area last weekend, according to the IDF.

The military said Awad was involved during the war in holding Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran and Eitan Mor in an underground tunnel in the Gaza City area.

All seven were eventually returned to Israel alive.

Two of the former hostages held by Awad celebrated his elimination after the IDF announcement.

Ziv Berman responded on Instagram: “Are you still smiling there in hell? This is the terrorist we called ‘the idiot.’ Of all those nuclear scientists there in Gaza, he beat them all.”

“Every dog has its day,” Berman added. “Thank you to everyone who took part! The people of Israel live!”

Eitan Mor also reacted to Awad’s death, writing: “Eliminated. He guarded me for almost half a year underground. He also guarded Ziv Berman and Omri Miran.”

According to the IDF, Awad had recently been working to restore Hamas’s capabilities and advance plans for attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, which the military described as systematic violations of the ceasefire.

The IDF said he was targeted from the air “in order to remove the threat he posed.”

The announcement came the same morning that the IDF and Shin Bet revealed the elimination of another key Hamas figure, Muhammad Abu Alwan, who headed the terrorist organization’s finance department.

Abu Alwan was killed in an Israeli strike in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza on Wednesday, according to Israeli security forces.

The IDF and Shin Bet said Abu Alwan had worked in Hamas’s financial apparatus for roughly a decade and was responsible for budgeting across the organization.

During the war, more than NIS 1 billion was transferred under Abu Alwan’s direction to finance Hamas activities, according to the security agencies, which described him as a significant figure in maintaining the organization’s governance and ability to survive.

Israeli security forces said Abu Alwan had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF and Shin Bet said they are continuing efforts to disrupt Hamas’s financial infrastructure, including targeting operatives as well as networks of money changers and facilitators responsible for transferring hundreds of millions of dollars.

Both strikes were described by the IDF as actions against operatives who posed ongoing threats despite the ceasefire.

Israeli forces under the Southern Command remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate against immediate threats, the military said.