Musa Shaldan, Hamas commander who led hostage release ceremonies, killed by IDF

The Israeli military and security agency Shin Bet has announced that a senior Hamas commander, Musa Shaldan, was killed in a recent airstrike carried out by the Israeli Air Force last week.

Shaldan, who was the deputy commander of the Hamas Zeitoun Battalion in Gaza City, was frequently seen in videos associated with the release of hostages.

What did Shaldan’s role entail?

According to the Israeli authorities, Shaldan was involved in the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel. His past roles within the Zeitoun Battalion included serving as its intelligence officer and deputy company commander.

During the subsequent war, Shaldan was responsible for managing the release of hostages from Gaza City. Operating from within humanitarian shelters, he engaged in numerous attacks against IDF troops in the area, using sniper fire, explosives, and anti-tank fire, and he was also responsible for Hamas’s combat compound plan in Zeitoun. The Israeli military affirmed its commitment to continuing action against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

The current conflict began after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,195 people killed (mostly civilians) and 251 taken hostage, with 48 still held captive.

Meanwhile, local hospitals reported that at least 10 people were killed in strikes on homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Gaza’s Health Ministry’s daily report stated that the overall death toll since the war began has climbed to 66,005, with an additional 168,162 wounded, noting that women and children constitute about half of the dead.

Residents also reported widespread explosions from building demolitions overnight. The Israeli military stated it struck 140 Hamas military targets over the past 24 hours and had recently leveled the 16-storey Macca tower in Gaza City after warning residents to evacuate, claiming the building housed “military infrastructure belonging to Hamas.”

Israel’s offensive has led to the destruction of vast areas of Gaza, displacing around 90% of the population and causing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.