The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency announced on Wednesday evening that an airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday killed Jamal Abu Saeed, head of operations in Hamas's military intelligence apparatus and head of the Operations Department in its military wing, in a joint statement reported by JFeed and the Times of Israel. The IDF released footage of the strike.

Source: JFeed (reporting the IDF/Shin Bet joint statement)

According to the two agencies, Abu Saeed held Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov in Hamas captivity during the war. Shem Tov was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7 and released on February 22, 2025, after more than 500 days in captivity.

Source: JFeed

A long Hamas career, the agencies said

The statement said Abu Saeed had held a series of senior Hamas positions over the years: he oversaw the training of Hamas operatives outside the Gaza Strip, commanded an anti-tank battalion, was responsible for military specialisations in Hamas's Central Camps Brigade, managed the group's relations with various countries and was regarded as a significant source of knowledge within the organisation.

Source: JFeed

The IDF and Shin Bet said that throughout the war, and particularly in recent weeks, Abu Saeed advanced plots against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and worked to restore Hamas's capabilities while, in their words, systematically violating the ceasefire; they said the strike removed the threat he posed. These are the agencies' allegations: neither report carried a response or confirmation from Hamas.

Source: JFeed

Six more killed in Khan Yunis, the agencies said

In a separate announcement, the IDF and Shin Bet said strikes in the Khan Yunis area earlier this week killed six operatives. In two strikes on Monday, they said, they killed Mahmoud Jihad Mohammad Qafa, head of a sniper cell in Hamas's military wing, and Asaad Suleiman Salman Qashta, an Army of Islam operative who they said facilitated smuggling into the Gaza Strip. In a further strike on Sunday, they said, they killed four Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives: Mohammad Zakaria Al-Jamal, head of a cell in Hamas's military wing; Mohammad Amin Al-Namas, a Hamas military-wing operative; Shaher Mohammad Zaarab, a Nukhba company commander in Hamas's military wing; and Mohammad Ali Abu Shaar, an Islamic Jihad sniper operative.

Source: Israel RealTime (summarising the IDF/Shin Bet announcement)

The agencies said the six had likewise advanced plots against Israeli soldiers and civilians and worked to restore their organisations' capabilities. Taken together, the Times of Israel reported the Gaza strikes as killing seven operatives in total, including Abu Saeed.

Source: The Times of Israel via Jewish Rhody

The second man linked to Shem Tov's captivity

Abu Saeed is the second man linked to Shem Tov's captivity to be killed this year, JFeed reported: in June, the IDF and Shin Bet said they killed Sabaei Abu Hasna, a Nukhba operative who infiltrated Israel on October 7 and took part in holding Shem Tov, and who appeared alongside Shem Tov at the staged Hamas ceremony marking his release. The strike on Abu Saeed is one of a series of targeted operations in recent days against Hamas operatives the military says were planning attacks and rebuilding the group's military capabilities — operations that continue while the Gaza ceasefire arrangements remain under strain, with Qatar and France this week again calling for the ceasefire's full implementation.