From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 30, 2026
IDF says Hamas commander who held a dozen Israelis hostage killed in Gaza strike
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Hamas commander who took part in holding numerous hostages in captivity in Gaza during the war was killed in a strike in the Strip’s center yesterday, the military announces.
The strike yesterday in Nuseirat killed Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya, who the military says was involved in holding hostages at the start of the war, including Raya Rotem, Hila Rotem Shoshani, Emily Hand, Ohad Ben Ami, Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, Maxim Herkin, Yosef Haim Ohana, Segev Kalfon and Alex Lobanov.
The strike also killed Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba, identified by the IDF as a Hamas platoon commander.
The IDF says both operatives had recently been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and acted to restore Hamas’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”
חיל-האוויר חיסל במרחב נוציראת אתמול (ה') את איהאב גמיל אבו טאקיה, מפקד חוליה בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
אבו טאקיה היה מעורב בהחזקת חטופים רבים בתחילת המלחמה, בהם רעיה רותם, הילה רותם שושני, אמילי הנד, אוהד בן עמי, נועה ארגמני, אנדריי קוזלוב, שלומי זיו, אלמוג מאיר ג׳אן,… pic.twitter.com/4TrA0RpEdR
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 30, 2026
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