The IDF announced Friday that a Hamas commander who invaded Israel on October 7 and held multiple Israelis hostage in Gaza was killed in a recent Israeli airstrike.

According to the military, Muhammad Bassam Mushtaha, a commander in Hamas’s Al-Shati battalion, was killed as a result of an airstrike in northern Gaza two weeks ago, on July 30.

Palestinian media outlets had reported last week that he died of his wounds several days after the strike.

The IDF says that Mushtaha was responsible for holding a number of Israelis captive who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, including Tsachi Idan — who was slain in captivity in December 2023 — Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was killed in Gaza in November 2023, as well as Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, Ori Megidish, Naama Levy and Matan Angrest — who were all later freed or rescued.

In recent weeks, Mushtaha “attempted to advance terrorist plots against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel,” and therefore was targeted, the military said.

The claim that Mushtaha was struck in self-defense rather than revenge means that the........

© The Times of Israel