The Israel Defense Forces, IDF, and Shin Bet have confirmed the killing of Abd al-Hadi Sabah, a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, who played a key role in the October 7, 2023, attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz.

The strike targeted Sabah in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, within an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.

The IDF stated that Sabah, who commanded the Nukhba platoon in Hamas’s West Khan Younis Battalion, was responsible for leading the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz, where dozens of civilians were murdered and kidnapped.

During the ongoing conflict, Sabah was involved in multiple assaults against IDF troops in Gaza. The IDF stated that measures were taken to minimise civilian harm during the strike that eliminated Sabah.

The operation to neutralise Sabah is part of a broader effort by the Shin Bet and IDF to identify and eliminate all perpetrators of the October 7 attacks, which marked one of the deadliest days in Israel’s history.

Images of Sabah, released by the IDF, show him during the assault on October 7. The military’s campaign against Hamas continues as Israel seeks to dismantle the organisation’s military infrastructure in Gaza.

Hamas commander behind October 7 attack killed by IDF in Gaza