IDF says it killed Hamas commander who held Israeli hostages in Gaza City strike; was doctor at Shifa Hospital

A Hamas commander who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and held Israeli hostages Romi Gonen and Cpl. Noa Marciano in captivity in the Gaza Strip was killed in an airstrike yesterday, the military and Shin Bet announce.

The Thursday strike in Gaza City killed Abd al-Rahim Abd al-Hay Youssef Kardi, a deputy commander of a Hamas cell, who also served as a doctor at Shifa Hospital, according to the military.

“Kardi infiltrated Israeli territory during the October 7 massacre,” the military says.

The IDF says that at the start of the war, Kardi was involved in holding Gonen hostage in Gaza City, including at Shifa Hospital, and he was also involved in holding the body of Marciano, a surveillance soldier, after she had been murdered in captivity, until her remains were recovered by the army. Gonen was freed after 471 days in captivity.

The military justifies the strike amid the ceasefire by saying that Kardi had been recently planning attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.

“The terrorist posed a threat to the troops and was eliminated in an aerial strike,” the army says.

צה"ל ושב"כ חיסלו סגן ראש חוליה בארגון הטרור חמאס שהחזיק ברומי גונן ורב"ט נועה מרציאנו ז"ל לאחר הירצחה

צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו אתמול במרחב העיר עזה, וחיסלו את המחבל עבד אלרחים עבד אלחי יוסף כרדי, סגן ראש חולייה בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס ששימש במקביל כרופא בבית החולים שיפאא'.

כרדי… pic.twitter.com/hMLn3SFqgL

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 31, 2026