Latest news with #PalestinianMujahideen
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Israel says it has killed leader of Palestinian militant group that took part in October 7 attack
The Israeli military says it has killed the leader of a Palestinian militant group that took part in the October 7, 2023, terror attacks on southern Israel. Asaad Abu Sharia, who led the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and its armed wing the Mujahideen Brigades, was killed in a joint operation with Israel's Shin Bet security agency, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday. His death and that of his brother Ahmed Abu Sharia were confirmed by the militant group hours after Gaza's Civil Defense reported that an Israeli airstrike had hit their family home in the Sabra area of Gaza City. Hamas run Al-Aqsa TV said the strike killed at least 15 people and injured several. Video showed people searching through the debris of a demolished four-story house. The Mujahideen Brigades took part in the October 7 attacks alongside Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups and took hostage some of the most high-profile captives, including a family whose suffering became a symbol of the attack. According to the Israeli military, Sharia was among the militant leaders who stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where many residents were killed or taken hostage during the brutal terror assault that led to Israel's war in Gaza. Despite not being aware of Hamas' plans in advance, fighters from the jihadist group joined in the cross-border assault 'as an extension of the Hamas attack,' the Israeli military said. According to Israel, Sharia was directly involved in the abduction and murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas – a family that became one of the most recognizable victims of the attack, partly because of the young ages of Kfir and Ariel, who were nine months and four years old respectively at the time. Kfir was the youngest hostage kidnapped into Gaza and the youngest to have been killed. The boys' mother, Shiri, was 32 at the time of her kidnap. Their father Yarden was also captured, but was released alive in February after 484 days in captivity. Reacting to news of Sharia's killing, the Bibas family expressed their 'heartfelt gratitude' to the Israeli military, saying his death was 'another step on the journey towards closure.' 'While Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir cannot be brought back, we find some measure of comfort knowing these despicable murderers will not harm another family,' the Bibas family said in a statement shared via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Israel's military said Sharia was also involved in the abduction of the Israeli-American couple Gad Haggai and Judi Lynn Weinstein Haggai and the abduction and killing of Thai national Nattapong Pinta. The Israeli-American couple were killed near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the attack in 2023. The body of Nattapong, an agricultural worker who was abducted alive on October 7, was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday. Israel said it believes the Mujahideen Brigades are still holding the body of an additional foreign national. The group has previously denied killing their captives.
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Israel says it has killed leader of Palestinian militant group that took part in October 7 attack
The Israeli military says it has killed the leader of a Palestinian militant group that took part in the October 7, 2023, terror attacks on southern Israel. Asaad Abu Sharia, who led the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and its armed wing the Mujahideen Brigades, was killed in a joint operation with Israel's Shin Bet security agency, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday. His death and that of his brother Ahmed Abu Sharia were confirmed by the militant group hours after Gaza's Civil Defense reported that an Israeli airstrike had hit their family home in the Sabra area of Gaza City. Hamas run Al-Aqsa TV said the strike killed at least 15 people and injured several. Video showed people searching through the debris of a demolished four-story house. The Mujahideen Brigades took part in the October 7 attacks alongside Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups and took hostage some of the most high-profile captives, including a family whose suffering became a symbol of the attack. According to the Israeli military, Sharia was among the militant leaders who stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where many residents were killed or taken hostage during the brutal terror assault that led to Israel's war in Gaza. Despite not being aware of Hamas' plans in advance, fighters from the jihadist group joined in the cross-border assault 'as an extension of the Hamas attack,' the Israeli military said. According to Israel, Sharia was directly involved in the abduction and murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas – a family that became one of the most recognizable victims of the attack, partly because of the young ages of Kfir and Ariel, who were nine months and four years old respectively at the time. Kfir was the youngest hostage kidnapped into Gaza and the youngest to have been killed. The boys' mother, Shiri, was 32 at the time of her kidnap. Their father Yarden was also captured, but was released alive in February after 484 days in captivity. Reacting to news of Sharia's killing, the Bibas family expressed their 'heartfelt gratitude' to the Israeli military, saying his death was 'another step on the journey towards closure.' 'While Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir cannot be brought back, we find some measure of comfort knowing these despicable murderers will not harm another family,' the Bibas family said in a statement shared via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Israel's military said Sharia was also involved in the abduction of the Israeli-American couple Gad Haggai and Judi Lynn Weinstein Haggai and the abduction and killing of Thai national Nattapong Pinta. The Israeli-American couple were killed near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the attack in 2023. The body of Nattapong, an agricultural worker who was abducted alive on October 7, was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday. Israel said it believes the Mujahideen Brigades are still holding the body of an additional foreign national. The group has previously denied killing their captives.
The National
3 days ago
- General
- The National
Israeli military recovers bodies of two Gaza hostages
Israel's military said it recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages from the Khan Younis area in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The bodies of Judi Lynn Weinstein and Gad Haggai, who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, were identified by Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Mr Weinstein was 70 and Ms Haggai 72 at the time of their deaths. They had four children, the military said. An Israeli security official told The Times of Israel that intelligence gathered from a Shin Bet interrogation of a Gaza detainee led to the discovery of the bodies. Israel has detained thousands of people from Gaza in the continuing war triggered by the Hamas attack, and has faced widespread criticism for its detention practices. The military said the couple were captured by members of the 'Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organisation'. The relatively small group is reported to also be behind the kidnapping of the deceased Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, among the most famous of the hostages in Israel. A forum representing the families of most Israeli hostages said the discovery of the bodies on Thursday 'represents the closing of a circle and the fulfilment of the state's fundamental obligation to them'. 'Decision-makers must do everything necessary to reach an agreement that will return all 56 remaining hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial,' it added. The forum has been part of a major protest movement calling for the release of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hostage families have been issuing increasingly desperate calls for an exchange deal since Israel broke the last one in March. There are fears that Israel's expanded fighting in the strip will endanger the lives of captives and make a new deal harder to reach. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his far-right coalition maintain that military pressure is the best way to release captives, something that most hostages' families reject. Of the approximately 250 hostages taken during the Hamas attack, most of those who have been returned were handed over as part of ceasefire deals involving the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. About 100 living hostages were freed during a brief ceasefire in November 2023, and another 30 during a truce that began on January 19 this year but collapsed when Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18. Fewer than 10 have been rescued alive by the Israeli military. Of the 56 remaining hostages still believed to be held in Gaza, all but one were captured on October 7, 2023. Of those, 33 are confirmed dead by the military, with 20 thought to be alive. The condition of the remaining three is not known, but officials say they have grave concerns for them.
Boston Globe
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israeli military expands ground operations in Gaza City
The Israeli military has since embarked on a major bombing campaign and seized territory in Gaza in a tactic that Israeli officials have said was intended to compel Hamas to release more hostages. Advertisement As the Israeli military operation expanded, Hamas's military wing on Friday appeared to threaten the remaining Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza. In a statement that did not mention the plight of its own people, Hamas said its fighters were holding some captives in the evacuation zones under 'strict security measures that are extremely dangerous to their lives.' The armed group has in the past threatened the well-being of hostages in the face of Israeli bombardments. Advertisement The military said its recent campaign had dismantled weapons infrastructure, including a Hamas command and control center and killed militants, including Mohammed Awad, who it described as a senior military commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen. The military said Awad had taken part in Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and was 'likely personally involved in the abduction and brutal murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas,' though it did not explain how it had come to that conclusion. Shiri Bibas and her two young children became symbols for many Israelis of their suffering on Oct. 7, 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 abducted to Gaza. Avichay Adraee, the military's Arabic-language spokesperson, said in a post late Thursday on social media that he was providing a 'final' warning before a new attack, urging people to relocate southward. Adraee suggested that militant groups were operating among civilians. While many people have complied with such evacuation orders from the military during the most recent Israeli campaign, others have chosen to stay in their homes or shelters, saying they could not bear being displaced or that they have nowhere else to go. On Friday, the military said its troops began operating in the neighborhood of Shajaiye in eastern Gaza City in order 'to expand the security zone,' referring to what it has characterized as a buffer zone next to Israel's border with Gaza. During the first 15 months of war, much of Shajaiye was transformed into a wasteland as the Israeli military fought Hamas, with buildings demolished, roads ripped up and utilities infrastructure ruined. Palestinian health authorities — who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants — said the bodies of 27 people killed in the Tuffah strike had arrived at the hospital. Advertisement Multiple videos verified by The New York Times show an explosion and its chaotic aftermath at the Dar al-Arqam school, where civilians were sheltering. The strikes were followed by a chaotic scene at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, where dust-covered and bloodied children were rushed from vehicles. Khamis Elessi, a volunteer doctor at the hospital, said successive waves of wounded people arrived in the emergency room, overwhelming medical staff. 'It was a terrifying scene,' he said in phone interview. 'People were thrown on the ground.' Elessi, 56, said he was stunned by the number of wounded children. 'I was brought to tears,' he said. 'One boy kept asking me: Why did they hit me?' One of those killed was the grandson of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas's top negotiator based in Qatar, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV channel reported. Israel has previously targeted schools being used as shelters, contending that Hamas militants were operating command centers in them. Hamas has denied such claims in the past. The United Nations has said that Israeli strikes on schools probably violated the law by causing disproportionate harm to noncombatants. More than 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the collapse of the cease-fire on March 18 and more than 50,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. The bodies of 86 people killed by Israel arrived at hospitals across Gaza on Thursday, according to the health ministry. This article originally appeared in
