PM: Oct. 7 terrorist who bragged to parents about massacring Jews killed in strike
Netanyahu says Israel called terrorist’s parents to tell them son was dead; reports said the man, identified as Mahmoud Afana, was killed in Gaza on Thursday
A Hamas terrorist who gained infamy for a recording in which he was heard bragging to his parents about slaughtering Jews during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an airstrike last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday.
According to Netanyahu, Israel then called those same parents to tell their son had been killed.
On Saturday, the Hebrew media reports cited Palestinian media in Gaza, identifying the man as Mahmoud Afana, and said he was killed in Deir al-Balah. There did not appear to be such news in Palestinian media on Saturday. The name Mahmoud Afana appeared in local media on Thursday as one of the people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, though he was not identified as the man in the notorious recording.
It was unclear whether the reports were based on additional sources beyond this.
In the Oct. 7 phone call released by Israel in the days following the massacre, the man could be heard excitedly telling his parents that he was in a kibbutz near the Gaza border, and that he alone had killed 10 Jews.
“Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!” he said, according to an English translation.
“Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!”
Listen to a phone call of a Hamas terrorist calling home, bragging about how many people he massacred.
The whole world needs to hear this. pic.twitter.com/Xv0ykyxvrF
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 24, 2023
“Mom, your son is a hero,” he added.
His parents were heard praising him during the call. Identified by his father as Mahmoud, the terrorist said he was calling his family from the phone of a Jewish woman he’d just murdered, and implored them to check his WhatsApp messages for further documentation.
ברשתות החברתיות הפלסטיניות מעדכנים על דבר מותו של מחמוד מהדי עפאנה, פעיל בשורות הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס שהשתתף בטבח 7 באוקטובר, ושהקלטה שלו מתגאה ברצח יהודים פורסמה בשעתו ע"י דובר צה"ל. באותה שיחה אמר עפאנה: "אני מדבר מסלולארי של יהודיה שהרגתי אותה ואת בעלה, במו ידי הרגתי עשרה".… pic.twitter.com/M0MchL3DJt
— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) September 6, 2025
“I wish I were with you,” the mother said.
Hamas-led terrorists massacred some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages during the October 7 onslaught, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza.
“We are deepening the maneuver on the outskirts of Gaza City, and inside Gaza City,” Netanyahu said Sunday, referring to the ongoing operation to conquer Gaza City.
The operation has drawn fierce international opposition, with countries, among them Israel’s Western allies, fearing it will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, while the families of hostages and their supporters charge that the offensive will lead to the deaths of captives.
“We are destroying terror infrastructure, we are taking down terror towers, and we have established another humanitarian zone to allow Gaza’s civilian population to move to a place of safety and also receive humanitarian aid there,” he continued, adding that around 100,000 civilians have evacuated from Gaza City.
Netanyahu said that Hamas is firing at women and children to keep them from leaving.
“We want to focus on the terrorists themselves, and allow the civilian population to get out,” Netanyahu added.
The Times of Israel Community.