IDF Kills Hamas Nukhba Commander Who Took Part in Oct. 7 Nova Festival Attack

The Israel Defense Forces announced it eliminated Hamas commander Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, who infiltrated Israel and took part in the Oct. 7 Nova Music Festival massacre.

Hamed died in a targeted strike Monday in central Gaza, the IDF said Tuesday.

"The IDF struck yesterday in the center of the Gaza Strip and eliminated Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, Nukhba commander in the Hamas terror organization, who raided the territory of the State of Israel and the Nova festival during the murderous massacre on October 7," the IDF said in a Tuesday morning post on X.

The IDF described Hamed as an "immediate threat to IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip" and said a precise airstrike killed him.

IDF forces remain deployed in the area under the ceasefire agreement and will keep operating against immediate threats, the military said.

Nukhba forces, elite units of Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades military wing, played a key role in the Oct. 7 attack. The Al-Qassam Brigades planned and carried out the assault, according to the IDF and the Counter Extremism Project. More than 3,800 of the 6,000 terrorists who invaded Israel that day were Nukhba fighters, the IDF said in an August 2024 assessment.

The Oct. 7 massacre killed more than 1,300 Israelis and led to a major Israeli military operation in Gaza. That campaign has eliminated two Al-Qassam Brigades commanders and other senior members.

A July 2024 strike killed Mohammed Deif, then commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades. An airstrike in May 2025 took out his successor, Mohammad Sinwar.

The latest strike occurred just under seven months after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump in October. The IDF has accused Hamas of breaching the deal in February by using ambulances to move terrorists and weapons in Gaza.

Hamas has accused Israel of ceasefire violations through daily airstrikes.

Fox News' Trey Yingst asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week whether Hamas' refusal to disarm would lead the Trump administration to back renewed Israeli combat in Gaza.

"Let’s hope we can avoid that. That’s not the outcome we want," Rubio replied. "The outcome we want is for Hamas to be demilitarized and a Palestinian security force backed by an international security force is able to secure Gaza."

Fox News Digital contacted the IDF and the White House for comment but received no immediate response.