IDF Kills Hamas Terrorist Behind Oct. 7 Kidnappings
Israeli forces killed Hamas commander Walid Haniyeh, who directed the kidnapping of civilians during the October 7, 2023 attack and was the nephew of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Walid Haniyeh was killed on Thursday, according to New York Post. The terrorist served as deputy commander of a Nukhba Force company within Hamas’s so-called military wing and continued recruiting and training terrorists throughout more than two years of war, the IDF stated.
Israeli military officials revealed that Haniyeh infiltrated Israel on October 7 and directed a terrorist cell that abducted Israeli civilians into Gaza. He provided operational orders to the kidnapping team during the massacre, according to the statement.
The eliminated terrorist was a nephew of Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas political bureau chief whom Israel assassinated in Tehran in July 2024, the IDF confirmed.
Multiple Hamas Operatives Eliminated in Recent Strikes
On Friday, Israeli forces killed three operatives from Hamas’s naval police unit, including the commander for the central camps sector. Hamas’s naval police operates under the terror organization’s military wing and coordinates attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel, the military noted.
Mansour Sami Mahmoud Shahtout and two other terrorists were eliminated while traveling armed in a vehicle, posing an immediate threat to Israeli forces operating in Gaza, according to the statement released Sunday.
A separate Wednesday airstrike eliminated Abd al-Rahman Maher Abd al-Karim Ziyada, who commanded a Nukhba Force cell and stole an Israeli military vehicle during the October 7 assault. The same day, Israeli forces killed Kamal Mohammad Hamdan Najjar, head of a Hamas tunnel unit in the Khan Yunis area.
Both terrorists worked throughout the war to orchestrate attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza and posed immediate threats before being eliminated in precision strikes, the IDF stated.
October 7 Attack Background
The October 7, 2023 invasion saw Hamas, other Palestinian terror groups, and Gazan civilians attack the northwestern Negev region, killing approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages. The massacre triggered a two-year war in Gaza that ended with a truce agreement on October 10, 2025.
With information from New York Post
