The IDF killed Walid Haniyeh, nephew of the former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, during a Thursday operation in Gaza, the military said on Saturday.
Haniyeh was the deputy commander of a Nukhba company and commanded a terrorist cell throughout the infiltration of Israel during the October 7 attacks. He recently tried to recruit new Hamas operatives into his ranks.
"Haniyeh was involved in directing and providing operational instructions to the terrorist cell as they took Israeli civilians hostage into the Gaza Strip," the military said.
Who was Ismail Haniyeh?
Ismail Haniyeh was a senior Hamas leader who was killed in July 2024 and replaced by Yahya Sinwar. His assassination in Tehran was said to have been caused by an explosive device planted in his room months before the detonation.
Haniyeh was appointed the chairman of Hamas's Political Bureau in 2017 and served from Qatar to strengthen international relations between Hamas and Middle Eastern powers, such as Iran and Turkey.
As a result, Iran threatened to retaliate against both the US and Israel with a barrage of air strikes, as many condemned the assassination for escalating the conflict.
Ruby Sadikman and Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.