IDF, Shin Bet say Israel killed Hamas commander involved with Oct 7 attacks

One of the Hamas commanders who led a deadly assault on an Israeli kibbutz during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks is dead. The Israel Defense Forces killed him in an airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet announced Friday, Dec. 6.

Israeli fighter jets struck and killed multiple top Hamas commanders in Gaza this week, including Majdi Aqilan.

Aqilan was one of the commanders who led Hamas’ attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Hamas killed 60 Israeli soldiers and 15 civilians there, taking eight more hostage.

Nearly 1,200 people died during Hamas’ attacks that day.

The Israeli government considers the latest strike another step forward in its war in Gaza as it tries to dismantle Hamas. 

International organizations including the United Nations condemned Israel for continuing its war.

Impartial estimates are hard to come by, however, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry estimated the death toll at over 44,000 Palestinians killed since last October.

The killing of Aqilan follows Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza in October, and the death of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in an apparent Israeli attack in Iran in July.

The Israeli military said two of the other Hamas commanders killed in this week’s strikes include a tunnel specialist also involved in the Nahal Oz attack, as well as a battalion commander involved in other Oct. 7 kidnappings.