Israel killed a Hamas terrorist involved in holding Israeli captives after the October 7, 2023 attack on the northwestern Negev, according to a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency released Saturday.
Anas Mahmoud Ahmed Hamdan, a Hamas company commander, was struck in an airstrike in the Khan Yunis area. He held responsibility for propaganda activities for Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade and served as a close aide to senior commanders in Hamas's "military wing," Including Mohammed Deif and Rafaa Salameh.
During the war, Hamdan documented hostages during Hamas's staged release ceremonies. Before the conflict, he was involved in the captivity of Avera Mengistu, an Israeli citizen who entered Gaza independently in 2015 and was freed in February 2025.
"Recently, Hamdan trained Hamas terrorists and worked to advance terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians. The terrorist posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike," The IDF stated.
The same day, the IDF announced the elimination of Nihad Arouq, a platoon commander in Hamas's Shati Battalion who infiltrated Israeli territory during the October 7 attack. He was killed in the northern Gaza Strip.
Overnight Wednesday, the IDF destroyed four Hamas weapons storage facilities in central Gaza containing Kalashnikov rifles, RPGs, grenades, explosive devices and additional military equipment intended for attacks on soldiers and Israeli civilians. The military said soldiers remain deployed in Gaza under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement and will continue operating to remove immediate threats.
The October 10, 2025 truce ended the two-year war that began with the October 7, 2023 attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages taken.