The Israel Defense Forces announced that Mahmoud Abdul Fattah Awad, one of the commanders of Hamas’s military wing, who, according to the army, took part in maintaining seven Israeli hostages, has been killed.

The Israel Defense Forces wrote on its account on the social media platform X that Danila Gilboa, Karina Arief, Doron Steinbacher, Naama Loui, Zeev Berman, Omri Miran and Eitan Mor were among the hostages whose captivity Awad took part in maintaining in an underground tunnel in the area of Gaza City.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, Awad recently planned and carried out attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli army forces and worked to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities; actions that the army described as “systematic violations of the ceasefire.”

The Israel Defense Forces also announced that Awad was killed in order to remove a threat, as the army said, that he posed.