IDF kills Oct. 7 infiltrator, Hamas platoon commander in Gaza

The IDF said Arouq participated in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and, throughout the war, trained incoming Hamas terrorists.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces announced late Thursday that it had eliminated a Hamas platoon commander who infiltrated Israeli territory during the Gazan invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nihad Arouq, a platoon commander in Hamas’s Shati Battalion, was killed earlier on Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip, it said.

“The terrorist posed a threat to our forces operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF said Arouq participated in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and, throughout the war—including in recent months—trained Hamas terrorists and sought to advance attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.

It added that troops under IDF Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue operating to eliminate threats as necessary.

The Israeli military has stepped up strikes in Gaza in recent months, targeting terrorists who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, saying they continued to pose a threat to Israeli forces.