Ali Qadi commanded the elite force unit and Merad Abu Merad headed the group’s air system, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Hamas announced on Tuesday the death of one of its military commanders in an Israeli attack in the center of the Gaza Strip. Ayman Nofal, commander of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the faction, was killed in a “Zionist” attack in the Bureij camp, says the brief statement.
According to the IDF, Nofal was the former head of Military Intelligence at Hamas, being one of the most powerful figures in the group. The Israeli government claims he planned the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas in 2006 and exchanged in 2011 for the release of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
In a rare move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a televised statement late last week to assert that Israel “will never forget or forgive the horrific acts of our enemies” and to promise the destruction of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack. October 7th terrorist attack that left more than 1,300 people dead in the south of the country.
Since the outbreak of the terrorist attack, in addition to Ayman Nofal, six other members with key positions in the Hamas hierarchy have been “eliminated”, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
On Saturday, the Israeli military announced the death of a Hamas terrorist who Israel said led a unit of commando forces that shot dead civilians in the October 7 attack. Al Qadi was killed in an airstrike, they said.
“Israeli military aircraft killed Ali Qadi, commander of the Hamas ‘Nukhba’ (elite) commando force,” said a statement without specifying the location or time of the attack.
Qadi, 37, was commander of a unit in Hamas’ elite force. A Palestinian source and the Israeli military statement said Qadi was one of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in 2011 in exchange for a soldier, Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas in 2006.
“Ali Qadi led the barbaric and inhumane massacre of civilians on October 7 in Israel. We just eliminated him. All Hamas terrorists will suffer the same fate,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media.
Qadi was arrested by Israel in 2005 for the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli man who, according to media at the time, was a broker for the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Hamas terrorists who breached the militarized security barrier around the Gaza Strip on October 7 killed more than 1,300 people in southern Israel, triggering Israeli retaliatory bombings that killed at least 2,215 people in Gaza.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli military confirmed that it had killed another leader of the terrorist group: Merad Abu Merad, considered the head of the Hamas air system. According to the Israeli Army, Murad “had a major role in and led terrorists in the massacre.”
In addition to Ali Qadi and Merad Abu Merad, the following were also killed, according to Israel:
Muetaz Eid: Commander of Hamas National Security Southern District
Zachariah Abu Ma’amar: Head of the International Relations office of the political wing of Hamas
Joad Abu Shmalah: Minister of Economy under the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip
Belal Alqadra: Commander of the Hamas ‘Nukhba’ (elite) commando force in Khan Younis
Belal Alqadra was killed in an aerial bombardment this Monday (17), in the most recent case. He is accused of being responsible for the Kibbutz Nirim massacre. His whereabouts were identified based on intelligence work.
Hamas officials said Israeli airstrikes days after the terrorist offensive hit the family home of Mohammad Deif, leader of Hamas’ military wing. Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, confirmed to the Associated Press that the bombing killed Deif’s father, brother and at least two other relatives in the town of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip. But the whereabouts of the terrorist leader are unknown.
