IDF kills Islamic Jihad terrorist who held Rom Braslavski captive

Israeli forces have killed Mahmoud Fatair, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Nukhba commander who infiltrated Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and took part in holding former hostage Rom Braslavski captive in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.

The military said Fatair was struck over the weekend in the Deir al-Balah area of central Gaza after recently trying to advance attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians. It said precautions were taken to reduce harm to civilians, including precision munitions and aerial surveillance.

Fatair was photographed in an Islamic Jihad uniform during a November 2023 hostage handover ceremony that included Amit Shani, Ofir Engel, Moran Stela Yanai, Itay Regev and others, according to the military.

Braslavski responded on X on Monday with a video message in Arabic and a short post in Hebrew reading, “Every dog has its day,” followed by “7.10.2023.”

Separately, the IDF announced on Monday that it had eliminated a Hamas Nukhba Force commander who infiltrated the Jewish state during the Oct. 7 massacre.

Abdallah Adnan Taha Abu al-Tayf was killed in an airstrike in the Deir al-Balah area of central Gaza on Sunday, the military said. According to the IDF, Abu al-Tayf crossed into Israeli territory as part of the Oct. 7 assault and later “actively participated in combat” against Israeli soldiers throughout the war in Gaza.

In a separate strike in Gaza City’s Shati area on Sunday, the IDF eliminated Jalal Tsubeih, a commander in Hamas’s Daraj Tuffah Battalion.

The military said both strikes were directed by the Israeli Security Agency and carried out after measures were taken to reduce harm to noncombatants, including the use of precision-guided munitions and aerial surveillance.

Also on Sunday, the IDF said that it had killed a Hamas commander who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Salem Jamal Abd al-Rahman Abu Labad, identified as a Nukhba Force cell commander, was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza on Saturday, the military said.

Last week, the IDF also killed a commander from the Kataeb al-Mujahideen terrorist group in the southern Gaza Strip who took part in the abduction of Israeli hostages Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or during the Oct. 7 attack. Additionally, forces killed a Hamas commander who operated simultaneously as a doctor in Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, holding Israeli civilian Romi Gonen captive and hiding the body of Cpl. Noa Marciano following her murder.