From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 16, 2026
IDF says it killed Hamas commander who took part in Oct. 7, PIJ member in separate Gaza strikes
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Hamas commander who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative were killed in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.
One strike in northern Gaza killed Mohammed Mohammed Abd al-Khalek Hala, identified by the IDF as a Hamas commander in the terror group’s weapons production division, who invaded Israel on October 7.
The military says Hala produced various weapons and advanced “the military buildup of the terror group across the Gaza Strip.”
A separate strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Ahmad Jabrin Tawfiq Dalha, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to the IDF.
Both terror operatives had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and were attempting to restore the capabilities of the two terror groups, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the IDF says.
צה"ל חיסל מפקד בארגון הטרור חמאס שהשתתף בטבח 7 באוקטובר ומחבל בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור גא"פ
צה"ל תקף אתמול, בצפון רצועת עזה וחיסל את מחמד מחמד עבד אלחאלק חלה, מפקד בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
המחבל פשט לשטח מדינת ישראל במהלך טבח 7 באוקטובר.
במסגרת תפקידו, המחבל שימש… pic.twitter.com/DIO9QJgvw0
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 16, 2026
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