JERUSALEM / Anadolu

The Israeli army announced Wednesday the killing of a Palestinian in a strike targeting southern Gaza Strip, claiming he was a member of Hamas' military wing and participated in the capture and killing of the Southern Brigade commander in the Gaza Division during the October 7, 2023 attack.

The army said in a statement that the killed man is Husam al-Shafi'i, claiming he belongs to the East Khan Younis battalion of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

It claimed that al-Shafi'i participated in storming the settlement of Nirim adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and in capturing Colonel Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, and Staff Sergeant Tomer Achims, and Sergeant Kiril Brodski, who it said were killed during the clashes in the settlement.

Hamas has not issued an immediate comment on the Israeli army's report.

The Al-Qassam Brigades had handed over on November 4, 2025, through the International Committee of the Red Cross, the body of Colonel Asaf Hamami, along with the bodies of three other Israeli captives, as part of implementing a prisoner exchange agreement.

Hamami is considered the highest-ranking Israeli officer captured during the October 7, 2023 attack.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli military bases and settlements, resulting in the killing and capture of a number of Israelis. The movement said it was 'in response to Israeli violations against Palestinians, their holy sites, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque'.

Following that, Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians and the injury of more than 173,000, in addition to widespread destruction affecting about 90 percent of civilian infrastructure.

According to the latest statistics from the Gaza Strip's Health Ministry, Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement have resulted, as of Monday, in the killing of 1,123 Palestinians and the injury of 3,616 others.