From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
IDF says 2 Hamas operatives, including one who held hostages, surrendered to troops in Rafah
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Two Hamas operatives, including a terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught and held hostages, surrendered to troops in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the military announces.
According to the IDF, the two were captured during operations of the 188th Armored Brigade in Rafah’s Shaboura camp several weeks ago.
One of the terror operatives is identified by the military and Shin Bet as Yousef Qadi, a Hamas platoon commander who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, during the terror group’s attack, and was later responsible for holding several Israeli hostages in Gaza, all of whom have since been released.
The second is identified as Muhammad Zaarab, a commander in a Hamas sniper unit.
The military says the pair were armed with several knives when they surrendered to troops.
During their interrogation by the Shin Bet, the pair provided intelligence information “about the location of a significant terror infrastructure in the area,” the statement says.
The IDF completed encircling Rafah several weeks ago and has been operating since then to locate and eliminate dozens of terror operatives still believed to be in the area.
The military says its activity in Rafah continues, and soon it will expand its operations to additional neighborhoods.
The Times of Israel Community.