One of the terrorists that infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the brutal October 7 massacre and took part in the abduction of Yarden Bibas was eliminated by the IDF and the Shin Bet, the IDF announced on Tuesday evening.
The IDF and Shin Bet, with direction from the Southern Command, struck and eliminated terrorist Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, an active member of Hamas' military wing. The strike took place on on August 10.
"The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to operate against the terrorists who took part in the brutal October 7th massacre," according to the IDF statement.
Yarden Bibas said after the announcement of the elimination of the terrorist who kidnapped him that "a small part of my closing the circle occurred today. Thank you to the IDF forces, Shin Bet and everyone who took part in eliminating one of the terrorists who kidnapped me on October 7th. Thanks to you, he will no longer be able to harm anyone. Please know that you are heroes. I am waiting for the circle to close with the return of my friends David and Ariel and the other 48 kidnapped men and women."
Yarden Bibas was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir. He was returned to Israel as part of the latest hostage deal, while his family members were murdered and their bodies returned to Israel as part of the same deal.
About two months ago, the IDF and Shin Bet killed in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip the head of the terrorist organization Al-Mujahideen Brigades, Asaad Abu Sharia, and the organization's senior leader Mahmoud Kahil, known as "Abu Al-Mu'tsem" - who raided Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and are responsible for the murder and kidnapping of many Israelis - including Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas. They were killed in two separate attacks.
Footage of t he kidnapping of Yarden Bibas
Following the announcement of the killing of Assad Abu Sharia, the Bibas family released a statement: "The news of the elimination of the organization’s commander represents for us another step in closing the circle and in the process of coming to terms with the immense loss of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. Shiri, Ariel and Kfir will not return, but there is some consolation in knowing that these vile murderers will no longer harm another family. We want to thank the IDF soldiers and the security forces for their courage and dedication, risking their lives for the safety of us all."
In an interview given in March to CBS’s 60 Minutes, Yarden Bibas spoke of the horrors he experienced since October 7, 2023, and of the loss of his wife Shiri and their children Ariel and Kfir. He said Hamas terrorists forced him to sit in front of a camera after telling him that his wife and children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike—though he now knows they were murdered by their captors.
Yarden Bibas interviewd on '60 Minutes'
(Video: From 60 Minutes courtesy of Cellcom TV)
"They were murdered in cold blood, with bare hands," Bibas said in the interview. "The captors used to tell me, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. You’ll get a new wife. You’ll get new children. A better wife, better children.’ They said it many times."
About the Israeli airstrikes he endured while held in tunnels, Bibas said: "It was terrifying. You don’t know when it will happen. And when it does—you fear for your life. The whole earth was shaking like an earthquake, but underground. Everything could collapse at any moment."
First published: 19:54, 08.19.25