The IDF said Wednesday that it killed a Hamas Nukhba commander who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and helped abduct three soldiers from an Israeli tank crew.
Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a squad commander in Hamas’ military wing, was killed in an Israeli strike last Thursday in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip, according to the military.
Footage of the strike that killed the Nukhba squad commander
(Video: IDF)
The IDF said Ismail infiltrated Israel from southern Gaza during the Oct. 7 massacre and took part in the battle involving the crew of Tank No. 3. Capt. Omer Neutra, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Sgt. Nimrod Cohen were abducted during the incident, while the tank’s driver, Sgt. Shaked Dahan, was killed.
Neutra and Daniel were later confirmed dead, and their bodies were returned to Israel under the ceasefire agreement in late 2025. Cohen was also released under the agreement. Dahan’s body was recovered by IDF troops in August 2024.
The military said Ismail remained involved throughout the war in ambushes aimed at Israeli troops.
More recently, according to the IDF, he had been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in what the military described as systematic violations of the ceasefire.
Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a squad commander in Hamas’ military wing, was killed in an Israeli strike
(Photo: IDF)
The IDF said Ismail was targeted ‘in order to remove the threat he posed.’ It added that precautions were taken before the strike to reduce the risk to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.
Southern Command troops remain deployed in the area under the terms of the ceasefire agreement and will continue operating against what the IDF describes as immediate threats, the military said.
Pressure on senior Hamas commanders continues
The strike came amid a series of Israeli operations targeting senior Hamas commanders in Gaza.
On Tuesday night, the IDF killed Nayal Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade, in a drone strike. Abu Obeid had replaced Mohammed Shabana, who was killed in Khan Younis in May 2025 alongside then-Hamas military chief Mohammed Sinwar.
A night earlier, Ahmad Batash, commander of Hamas’ Jabalia Battalion in the terror group’s northern Gaza brigade, was also killed.
The IDF said Batash had been responsible for managing and organizing weapons for the brigade and had helped coordinate the supply of weapons and military equipment to Hamas terrorists.
According to the military, Batash had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’ capabilities and advance attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in violation of the ceasefire. The IDF said precautions were taken to minimize civilian casualties in that strike as well.
Over the weekend, the IDF and Shin Bet also said they killed Mohsen Abu Hadaf, an Islamic Jihad rocket squad commander, in Khan Younis.
According to the two agencies, Abu Hadaf took part in the Oct. 7 attack in the Kissufim area and had recently been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in violation of the ceasefire.