IDF Says It Killed Nukhba Commander Tied to Killing, Abduction of Armored Corps Soldiers on Oct. 7

The IDF and Shin Bet announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 that they had killed Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a Hamas Nukhba squad commander, in a strike in the Khan Yunis area the previous week (September 11). The military said Ismail took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on an Israeli tank crew, killing driver Sgt. Shaked Dahan and leading to the abduction of Capt. Omer Neutra and St.-Sgt. Oz Daniel — both later confirmed dead, their remains held in Gaza — and Sgt. Nimrod Cohen, who was taken alive. The IDF said Ismail had since been involved in multiple ambushes against Israeli soldiers over the course of the war and had recently advanced attacks on troops and civilians in violation of the ceasefire, and that the strike used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to minimize civilian harm.