IDF Confirms Killing of Oct. 7 Nukhba Commander Ziyada and Khan Younis Tunnel Chief Najjar

The IDF on Sunday confirmed the elimination of two senior Hamas operatives in coordinated precision strikes carried out the previous Wednesday inside the Gaza Strip. Abd al-Rahman Maher Abd al-Karim Ziyada, a commander in the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades' elite Nukhba Force, was killed in the al-Shati area; he had participated in the October 7, 2023 massacre, infiltrating Israeli territory and looting an IDF military vehicle, and was photographed celebrating beside a captured tank. In a separate strike on Khan Younis, the IDF eliminated Kamal Mohammad Hamdan Najjar, head of Hamas's Khan Younis tunnel unit, dismantling critical underground infrastructure. The military stated both posed immediate threats to Israeli forces operating in the sector.