IDF kills PIJ commander behind Oct. 7 assault on Nahal Oz

Intelligence confirms Alaa al-Din Abd al-Nasser Hasan Khudari was eliminated in airstrikes on Gaza 10 days ago.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The IDF announced Monday that it had eliminated an elite commander who led the assault on Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Alaa al-Din Abd al-Nasser Hasan Khudari headed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) City Brigade.

The PIJ, which is a direct Iranian proxy, is allied with Hamas and fully participated in the Oct. 7 brutalities.

“He took part in the October 7 massacre and continued directing attacks against our troops and civilians throughout the war,” the IDF said on X.

According to IDF intelligence assessments, Khudari was killed during a series of airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip after Hamas violated the cease-fire on November 22 by firing on IDF troops.

Nahal Oz was among the hardest-hit communities on Oct. 7, with roughly a quarter of its members being either taken hostage or murdered by the infiltrating terrorists.

They also set fire to and destroyed many of the residents’ homes during the attack.

The kibbutz’s emergency response squad fought for hours alone against dozens of well-armed Nukhba forces.

The IDF only regained full control of the kibbutz some 12 hours after the initial assault.

The IDF also closed accounts Sunday with another senior Gazan terrorist, according to Israeli online channel Abu Ali Express, which cited Hamas-linked sources.

Tawfik Salaam, a commander in the Shadow Unit of Hamas’ military wing, was eliminated by IDF forces in Rafah as he was trying to flee from a tunnel beneath the town, as several dozen terrorists have tried to do unsuccessfully over the last few weeks.

The channel aired a clip it said showed Salaam haranguing former hostage Tal Shoham as Shoham sat in a car before being taken to the location in Rafah where Hamas choreographed his handover to the Red Cross during the second hostage deal in February.

The Shadow Unit consists of Hamas members handpicked from the Nukhba ranks whose primary mission was to guard the Israeli and foreign nationals kidnapped on Oct. 7.

Shoham has recounted in several interviews how he was starved, physically beaten and psychologically abused for most of his 505 days in captivity.

Many other hostages have described similar horrific treatment at the hands of their captors.

gaza stripHamasIDFPalestinian Islamic Jihad