(Aug. 1, 2026 \/ JNS)\n <\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces this week killed a commander from the Kataeb al-Mujahideen terrorist group in the southern Gaza Strip who took part in the abduction of Israeli hostages Noa Argamani<\/a> and Avinatan Or<\/a> during the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, the military said on Friday.<\/p>\n Terrorist Ahmed Hussein Mohammed Kafina, in charge of the central Gaza area for the group, also directed the abduction of Sudthisak Rinthalak<\/a>, a 43-year-old Thai farm worker who was murdered in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri on Oct. 7 and whose body was taken into Gaza, the IDF said.<\/p>\n During the war and in recent months, Kafina advanced terrorist attacks against Israeli troops and civilians, the IDF continued.<\/p>\n He was eliminated on Tuesday in a precise aerial strike after posing an immediate threat to nearby troops, the army said.<\/p>\n Kataeb al-Mujahideen (\u201cthe Mujahideen Brigades\u201d) collaborates closely with terrorists from Palestinian Islamic Jihad\u2019s armed wing, Saraya al-Quds (\u201cthe Al-Quds Brigades\u201d).<\/p>\n Argamani and Or, who were a couple at the time, were kidnapped from the Supernova music festival into Gaza. Argamani<\/a> was released along with three other hostages in a military rescue mission after 245 days in captivity, on June 8, 2024. Or was redeemed after 738 days in Hamas captivity, on Oct. 13, 2025, as part of an agreement involving the release of Palestinian security prisoners.<\/p>\n In a separate strike on Thursday, the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) killed a Hamas commander who operated simultaneously as a doctor in Gaza City\u2019s Shifa Hospital<\/a>, and held Israeli civilian Romi Gonen in captivity, as well as the body of Cpl. Noa Marciano following her murder.<\/p>\n