From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 14, 2026
IDF confirms killing Hamas commander who held multiple Israelis captive in Gaza
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The IDF announces that a Hamas commander who invaded Israel on October 7 and held multiple Israelis hostage in Gaza has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
According to the military, Muhammad Bassam Mushtaha, a commander in Hamas’s Al-Shati battalion, was killed as the result of an airstrike in northern Gaza two weeks ago, on July 30. Palestinian media outlets had reported last week that he died of his wounds several days after the strike.
The IDF says that Mushtaha was responsible for holding a number of Israelis captive who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, including Tsachi Idan — who was slain in captivity in December 2023 — Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was killed in Gaza in November 2023, as well as Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, Ori Megidish, Naama Levy and Matan Angrest — who were all later freed or rescued.
In recent weeks, Mushtaha “attempted to advance terrorist plots against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel,” and therefore was targeted, the IDF says.
An analysis by The Times of Israel last month found that the IDF has in the past few months stepped up a large-scale retribution campaign with the avowed aim of hunting down and eliminating every single terrorist who took part in the October 7 massacre.
The Times of Israel Community.