The Israeli Defence Forces said on Tuesday they killed an elite Hamas commander who led one of the most horrific attacks on the Israeli kibbutz on October 7, 2023.
Abd al-Hadi Sabah, the head of Hamas' Nukhba platoon in West Khan Younis Battalion, was killed in a targeted strike during an intelligence-based attack in an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, as per military officials.
"Abd al-Hadi Sabah—who operated from a shelter in the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis—was one of the leaders of the infiltration into Kibbutz Nir Oz during the murderous October 7 Massacre. Sabah also led and advanced numerous terrorist attacks against IDF troops throughout the current war," said the IDF in a post on X.
He was responsible for leading the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community located close to the Gaza border fence, according to IDF.
During the attack, Hamas strategically burnt all 250 cars at the kibbutz so that the residents who weren't immediately murdered or abducted couldn't escape, according to the New York Post.
As many as 38 residents were killed during the attack while 75 were kidnapped, leaving the kibbutz one of the communities most devastated by the attack.
Survivors were evacuated in the aftermath of the attack and now live in temporary housing about an hour away in Kiryat Gat.
Sabah also led numerous attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza, said the IDF. Another Hamas commander, Anas Muhammad Masri was also killed along with Sabah, said the IDF according to the Jerusalem Post.
Masri, the commander of the northern sector of Hamas' rocket unit had been actively commanding rocket fire from northern Gaza into Israel, as per the IDF.
The Israeli forces described Masri as a significant figure responsible for executing numerous terrorist operations, managing and directing actions by the organisation that targeted Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers”.