From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 8, 2026
IDF says it killed two Hamas operatives, including commander involved in holding 3 hostages
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleStav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
The IDF says it killed two additional Hamas operatives in separate Gaza City strikes this week, including a commander involved in holding Israeli hostages captive during the war.
According to the military, Muhammad Muhsen Nimr Yazji, a commander in Hamas’s Shati Battalion, was involved in holding former hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Matan Angrest in the Gaza City area after they were abducted during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. He was killed Monday.
A second operative, Muhammad Fawzi Muhammad Awad Gamal of Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah Battalion, was killed Tuesday in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.
The IDF says the two had recently “advanced plans for attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and worked to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities,” and were targeted “to remove the threat.”
More from today’s Liveblog:
- Zamir told US generals that striking Iran in coming weeks could delay Israeli election — report
- Shin Bet: 72 residents of southern Israel arrested on security charges since start of this year
- Defense Min. gives instructions to ban pro-Palestinian activists from West Bank during olive harvest, Yesha Council says
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