Hamas navy chief and captor of hostages both killed in Israeli airstrikes, says IDF

The chief of Hamas’s naval forces and another terrorist who was involved in holding Israeli hostages captive in Gaza were killed in yesterday’s airstrikes in the Strip in response to an attack on troops, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.

Yesterday, Israeli forces stationed in the Khan Younis area came under fire from terror operatives. No injuries were caused. In response, the IDF launched a wave of strikes on Hamas targets.

The IDF and Shin Bet say they are able to confirm the deaths of Abdallah Abu Shamala, the Hamas naval forces chief, and Fadi Abu Mustafa, who took part in holding Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio and other hostages captive in Gaza, in yesterday’s strikes.

Abu Shamala was a senior Hamas commander who held various roles in the terror group’s naval forces over the years.

The IDF says Abu Shamala was involved in Hamas’s sea-borne infiltration in the Zikim area during the 2014 Gaza war, and he also took part in planning and training the naval forces for its infiltration of Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

The naval forces commander also advanced “numerous terror attacks throughout the war against IDF troops, and naval targets in particular,” the military says.

Abu Mustafa, according to the IDF, was responsible for tunnel digging in Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. He also took part in holding Cohen, Cunio, and additional hostages captive in Gaza, the military says.

An airstrike targets the commander of Hamas’s naval forces in the Gaza Strip, November 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)