Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad, a Hamas commander who held seven hostages during the war in Gaza and was killed in an airstrike, in an image published on September 24, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
A Hamas commander who held seven Israeli hostages in captivity during the war was killed in a strike in Gaza City over the weekend, the military announces.
The strike killed Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad, who the military says held hostages Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, and Eitan Mor in a tunnel in Gaza City.
Recently, the Hamas commander planned and advanced attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and acted to restore Hamas capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military says.
Separately, the army also confirms killing Hamas’s chief financial officer in southern Gaza yesterday.
Muhammad Abu Alwan, who served as head of the Hamas terror group’s finance, killed in an airstrike, in an image published on September 24, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Muhammad Abu Alwan, who served as head of the terror group’s finance department, directed the transfer of over a billion dollars to Hamas during the war, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, “making him a key figure in maintaining the terrorist organization’s rule and survival.”
Abu Alwan had also been involved in restoring Hamas infrastructure, in violation of the truce, the military says.
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
