Israeli Forces Kill Hamas Commander Behind Terror Attack; Freed in 2011 Prisoner Exchange

Israel Defense Forces killed Ali Qadi, the Hamas commander behind the Palestinian terror group’s attack on Israel, which left at least 1,300 dead and more than 3,000 wounded.

The Jerusalem Post reports:

IDF aircraft, with the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet and AMAN (Military Intelligence Directorate), targeted the terrorist. In 2005, Qadi was arrested following the kidnapping and murder of Israelis and was later released as part of the Gilad Shalit exchange deal.

The Shalit prisoner exchange occurred in 2011. Israel exchanged 1,027 terrorists for the Israeli soldier.

“In addition, the IDF assassinated Merad Abu Merad, who was the head of the Hamas aerial system, it said Saturday morning. He was primarily responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre,” the Jerusalem Post added.

“Ali Qadi led the inhumane, barbaric October 7 massacre of civilians in Israel. We just eliminated him. All Hamas terrorists will meet the same fate,” the IDF wrote on social media after killing Qadi.

The development is the latest in Israel’s response to the terror attack that shocked the world. Some of victims were reportedly found burned, while others were said to have been decapitated. The Jewish state has confirmed that over 120 civilians are being held captive in Gaza by Hamas.

“We see blood spread out in homes. We’ve found bodies of people who have been butchered,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Maj. Libby Weiss told CBS News. “The depravity of it is haunting.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to destory Hamas in Gaza and has told residents to evacuate to the southern area of the strip ahead of a possible ground invasion.

The IDF has already conducted successful raids into Gaza.

“The IDF tells Fox News that Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip today, both infantry forces and tanks, to conduct localized raids,” Fox News’s foreign correspondent Trey Yingst first reported. “This was not the full-scale invasion that everyone is still anticipating, but it was an effort, according to the Israeli military, to eliminate militants along the border and also to gather information on those held hostage inside the Gaza Strip.”