The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it has killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander who allegedly participated in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the abduction of Israeli hostages.

According to the IDF, Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, an Islamic Jihad Nukhba commander in the Khan Yunis Brigade, was eliminated during a recent military operation. The military said Abu Mustafa infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 attack and took part in the kidnapping of Yagil Yaakov, who was 12 years old at the time.

“Zaki Youssef Mahmoud Abu Mustafa, the Islamic Jihad Nukhba commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade who infiltrated Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre and participated in the abduction of Yagil Yaakov, was eliminated,” the IDF said in a statement.

The military further alleged that Abu Mustafa directed multiple attacks against Israeli forces and used Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis for terrorist activities. The IDF also announced the killing of Mohammed Osama Abd al-Aziz Saba al-Eish, whom it identified as a Hamas Nukhba operative.

Yagil Yaakov and his brother, Or Yaakov, 16, were released on November 27, 2023, as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar and the United States between Israel and Hamas. Their father, Yair Yaakov, was killed during the October 7 attack.

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