The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced the successful elimination of Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, a prominent commander within Hamas, who was involved in the attack on Israel during the October 7 Nova Music Festival Massacre.
According to the IDF, Hamed was killed in a carefully executed strike in Gaza on Monday, with the news being made public on Tuesday.
“Yesterday, the IDF targeted the central region of the Gaza Strip and successfully eliminated Ans Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, a key Nukhba commander in the Hamas terrorist organization, who had infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in the brutal massacre at the Nova festival on October 7,” the IDF shared in a post on X, Tuesday morning.
The IDF described Hamed as an “immediate threat to IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip,” highlighting that he was “eliminated in a precise airstrike.”
A poster depicting Hamas Nukhba Commander Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, whom the Israel Defense Forces claim to have eliminated, dated Monday, May 4, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF further stated that its forces are “strategically positioned in the area in line with operational agreements and will continue to act to neutralize any immediate threats.”
Nukhba, which is Arabic for elite, is the special forces for the Al-Qassam Brigades, which is Hamas’ military wing.
Both units were instrumental in the Oct. 7 massacre. The Al-Qassam Brigades planned and executed the attack, according to the IDF and the Counter Extremism Project. Of the 6,000 terrorists who invaded Israel during the attack, more than 3,800 were Nukhba fighters, the IDF stated in an August 2024 assessment.
The Oct. 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 Israelis and prompted a sprawling Israeli military campaign in Gaza. During this campaign, the IDF eliminated two commanders of the al-Qassam Brigades and numerous other members of the group’s military leadership.
Palestinian Hamas fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades participate in a military parade near the border in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2023, marking the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
A July 2024 targeted strike killed then-al-Qassam Brigades Commander Mohammed Deif. In May 2025, another airstrike killed his replacement, Mohammad Sinwar.
The latest Israeli strike in Gaza comes just under seven months after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump in October. The IDF accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire in February by using ambulances to transport terrorists and weapons around the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with daily airstrikes.
Fox News’ Trey Yingst asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week if Hamas’ refusal to put down its weapons would prompt the Trump administration to support Israel resuming combat operations in Gaza.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio wait as President Donald Trump prepares to address the Knesset in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2025. Trump visited Israel hours after Hamas released some Israeli hostages as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal in the Gaza conflict. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Let’s hope we can avoid that. That’s not the outcome we want,” Rubio told Yingst. “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 reached out to the IDF and the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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