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.
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