The Israeli army said on Sunday it had killed a Gaza resident alleged to have taken part in the abduction of Israelis into the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Saher Saqr was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat in the central part of the coastal strip on Saturday, the al-Aqsa Hospital in the Gaza Strip also confirmed. Three other people were injured in the strike. Sources within the Hamas terrorist organization also said Saqr had been involved in the hostage-taking nearly three years ago.
The Israeli army confirmed Palestinian reports that Saqr had ridden the motorbike on which Israeli woman Noa Argamani and her boyfriend Avinatan Or were abducted. He had most recently been involved in planning new attacks and was therefore killed “to eliminate the threat he posed,” the army said.
The fate of the young woman, who was abducted from the Nova music festival in Israel to the adjacent coastal territory, had prompted an outpouring of sympathy worldwide. Footage of her being taken away on a motorbike by the terrorists, desperately crying out for help, circulated widely on social media.
In June 2024, Argamani was freed from Hamas captivity by an Israeli special forces unit along with three other hostages. The army said the operation involved fierce clashes with armed Palestinians. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 274 Palestinians were killed. The figures made no distinction between fighters and civilians.
Last year, Argamani addressed the UN Security Council, describing the horrific conditions of her captivity.