IDF kills Gaza terrorists, including one freed in hostage deal

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday killed several armed terrorists during operations in the Gaza Strip, including one who was released as part of the hostage deal with Hamas, the military said.

“Overnight, IDF soldiers identified a squad of approximately 10 armed terrorists from the Hamas terrorist organization operating in the center of the Gaza Strip. Immediately after identification, the IDF struck and eliminated the armed terrorists to remove the threat,” according to the statement.

In a separate incident on Saturday night, troops of the IDF’s 188th “Barak” Armored Brigade killed Ahmed Faiz Salem Abu Rida, a terrorist who was detained during the war but freed as part of the February 2025 hostage deal with Hamas.

Abu Rida “systematically violated the terms of the agreement, including by crossing the Yellow Line multiple times, transferring funds to suspects for terrorist activity and posing a threat to IDF soldiers,” the army said.

It added that troops remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the U.S.-brokered Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire deal and “will continue to operate to remove any threat.”

In a separate strike in northern Gaza overnight on Sunday, the IDF eliminated members of an armed terrorist cell, the army said.

“Following the identification, the IDF struck and eliminated the armed terrorists in order to remove the threat posed to IDF troops,” it stated.

On Wednesday, the IDF eliminated several armed operatives of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force in an overnight strike in the central Strip.

“The terrorists had recently conducted several military training sessions in the area and posed a threat to IDF soldiers and to the State of Israel,” according to the IDF.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, last week laid out five points intended to ensure the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of the devastated Strip.

During an address to the U.N. Security Council, Mladenov noted that the “comprehensive plan,” whose mechanism was not revealed until now, was agreed to by all mediating nations—the United States, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.

The plan calls for a demilitarization process alongside the withdrawal of IDF troops from eastern Gaza; addressing and neutralizing “heavy” weaponry and tunnels, with personal arms handled later through registration and collection; verification of decommissioning stages before reconstruction begins; pathways for individuals affiliated with terrorist groups to reenter “civilian life with dignity"; and flexible timelines to account for conditions on the ground.