The Israeli military says it has killed the leader of a Palestinian militant group that took part in the October 7, 2023 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 militant 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 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.
Credit: cnn.com
