IDF says it killed terrorists who led massacres in Mefalsim area on Oct. 7

Five Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 onslaught were killed in a recent airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announces.

The military says the strike overnight between Wednesday and Thursday in Beit Lahiya targeted a site where several Hamas operatives were gathered, including members of the terror group’s elite Nukhba Force who were involved in the massacre on October 7, 2023.

Among those killed in the strike are Jihad Mahmoud Yahya Kahlout, a Nukhba Force company commander, and Muhammad Riad Ali Oukal, a Hamas company commander.

The IDF says the pair were commanders in the invasion of southern Israel on October 7 and led the massacre and kidnapping of civilians from the Mefalsim area during the attack.

The military says the two terrorists had also been leading figures in fighting against troops in northern Gaza amid the ongoing operation there.

Additional terrorists killed in the strike are named by the IDF as Anas Jalal Muhammad Abu Shakian, a Hamas commander who also participated in the attack on the Mefalsim area on October 7; Nur al-Din Muhammad Yahya Abu Jadian, a Nukhba member; and Sihab Hassan Ali Matar Adaim, a Hamas operative.