IDF Kills Hamas Terrorist Linked to Abduction of Israeli Commander’s Body

Key Facts

Published: July 15, 2026 Location: Jerusalem Source: Israel Defense Forces; The Times of Israel

• The IDF killed Hamas terrorist Hassam Shafai in southern Gaza.
• Shafai participated in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Nirim and the abduction of three Israeli soldiers’ bodies.
• Israel said he remained involved in planning attacks and posed an ongoing threat to troops.

Military says Hassam Shafai participated in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Nirim and remained a threat to Israeli forces

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Wednesday that it killed a Hamas terrorist who helped abduct the bodies of an Israeli brigade commander and two soldiers during the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The IDF said Hassam Shafai, a member of Hamas’s East Khan Younis Battalion, was killed Tuesday in an airstrike in southern Gaza.

According to the military, Shafai took part in the Hamas assault on Kibbutz Nirim, where Col. Asaf Hamami, commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, was killed while fighting alongside Staff Sgt. Tomer Ahimas and Sgt. Kiril Brodski.

Shafai later participated in the abduction of their bodies into Gaza, the IDF said.

The military added that Shafai continued planning and advancing attacks throughout the war and had recently posed a direct threat to Israeli troops operating inside the Gaza Strip.

Hamami’s body was returned to Israel in November 2025 as part of a hostage agreement. The bodies of Ahimas and Brodski were recovered by Israeli forces during separate military operations in Gaza in 2024.

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