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Hamas commander who led war’s deadliest attack on IDF troops killed in drone strike

By Emanuel Fabian 1 June 2025, 2:24 pm 2 Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Soldiers killed in the central Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024: Top (L-R): Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin; middle: Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, Master Sgt. (res.), Elkana Vizel, Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif; bottom: Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid. (Israel Defense Forces, courtesy; combo image: Times of Israel)
Soldiers killed in the central Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024: Top (L-R): Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin; middle: Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, Master Sgt. (res.), Elkana Vizel, Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif; bottom: Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid. (Israel Defense Forces, courtesy; combo image: Times of Israel)

A Hamas commander who led the deadliest attack on Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip amid the war was eliminated in a drone strike over the weekend, the military and Shin Bet announce.

The IDF says Khalil Abed al-Nasser Mohammad Hatib commanded a Hamas cell in the terror group’s Maghazi Battalion, which carried out an RPG attack against troops operating near the Israeli border on January 22, 2024.

The RPGs hit two buildings that had been rigged up for detonation and a tank guarding the forces, killing 21 soldiers. It was the deadliest attack on Israeli troops amid the war.

The military says troops of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit identified the operative on Friday and called in a drone strike, killing him.

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