The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) struck and killed Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior commander in the Military Intelligence Array in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Friday.

He was affiliated with senior commanders of the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization.

On October 7, Awad infiltrated the Israeli community of Nir Oz multiple times. He was one of the leaders of the massacre and was likely personally involved in the abductions and brutal murders of Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel and Kfir.

Additionally, he played a role in the abduction and burial of Gaddi Haggai and Judy Weinstein. He was also involved in the abductions of Thai citizens.

Additional terror attacks

As part of his role in the terrorist organization, Awad actively recruited operatives in the West Bank and within Israel, using them to plan and carry out attacks against Israelis until his death. Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

During the war, the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization, with Awad as a key figure, carried out multiple terrorist attacks against Israel and IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip.

Bibas family kidnapping

During the October 7 raid, Hamas terrorists infiltrated into southern Israel, murdering and kidnapping hundreds of people, including the Bibas family. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were kidnapped by Awad and their husband/father Yarden was kidnapped by Hamas.

The kidnapping of the Bibas family was one of the results of the complete collapse of Israel’s security forces on October 7, with their community of Nir Oz suffering a grievous massacre.

Hamas released Yarden Bibas on February 1 and released the bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir a couple weeks later. It was then later announced that Shiri and the kids had been brutally murdered by their kidnappers in captivity and their deaths were used to psychologically hurt Yarden.

As’ad Abu Sharaiya, Head of the Mujahideen terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

The IDF killed Kataib al-Mujahideen’s military wing commander, Mahmoud Muhammad Hamid Kuhail, also known as Abu al-Mu’tasim, and a senior leader of the group, As’ad Abu Sharaiya, the head of the terrorist organization, in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Saturday.

Kataib al-Mujahideen (“Holy Warriors Brigades”), the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, has been linked to the October 7 massacre in Israel that included the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her children, Kfir and Ariel, as well as the killing of Israeli-American-Canadian couple Judy Weinstein and Gad Haggai, and Thai workers.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has a long history of using violence and intimidation to maintain its authority. Those who aligned themselves with its military wing, such as the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, participated in planning, financing, and carrying out attacks against Israel.

The IDF killed Kataib al-Mujahideen’s military wing commander Mahmoud Muhammad Hamid Kuhail, also known as Abu al-Mu’tasim, as well as As’ad Abu Sharaiya, head of the terrorist organization, in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Saturday.

Kataib al-Mujahideen (Holy Warriors Brigades), the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, has been linked to the October 7 massacre in Israel that included the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her children, Kfir and Ariel, as well as the killing of Israeli-American-Canadian couple Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai, and Thai workers.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has a long history of using violence and intimidation to maintain its authority. Those who aligned themselves with its military wing, such as this movement, participated in planning, financing, and carrying out attacks against Israel.

Hamas viewed these groups as essential for fundraising and for reinforcing its armed presence in Gaza, and as forces that could be mobilized against Israel as needed.

Security sources describe Kataib al-Mujahideen as relatively small but highly lethal and compartmentalized, which has allowed it to operate under the radar of the IDF and evade intelligence monitoring. The group has carried out rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. It has also been involved in attempts to activate terrorists inside Israel, both before and after October 7, often in coordination with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The group was established during the Second Intifada by senior terrorists who split from Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and adopted a more radical Salafi ideology. Its first commander, Omar Abu Sharaiya, was eliminated in an IDF targeted killing in 2006, after which his family took over leadership.

What is the Mujahideen group that held Judith Weinstein, Gadi Haggai?

The IDF on Thursday said it had retrieved the bodies of Judith Weinstein Haggai and her husband, Gadi Haggai, from Khan Yunis. They were murdered and their bodies were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre and held in Gaza for almost 20 months. Judith was 70 and Gadi was 72 when they were murdered. They had Israeli and US citizenship.

The Bibas family’s statement following the killing

Terrorists from the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement murdered them, the IDF confirmed. This is the same terrorist group that is believed to have also kidnapped and murdered Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir. Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the children’s father, was released on February 1, 2025.

They were kidnapped also from Nir Oz on October 7, when terrorists overran the kibbutz.

“The elimination of this terrorist commander marks another step on our path toward closure and coming to terms with the unbearable loss of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir. While nothing can bring them back, we take some comfort in knowing that these despicable murderers can no longer harm another family,” the Hostages Families Forum press release wrote.

Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the elimination of Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas in Gaza. Awad was killed in a targeted airstrike in northern Gaza, which was a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency.

Israel held Awad responsible for the brutal attacks on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which has led to the ongoing war in Gaza. That day, terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages, including Shiri Bibas and her sons, Kfir (10 months) and Ariel (4 years). Israeli authorities say Awad personally oversaw the kidnapping.

The Nir Oz attack drew global outrage, particularly after harrowing images emerged of Shiri clutching her young sons during their capture. Israeli forensic assessments, conducted after recovering their bodies in February 2025 as part of a ceasefire and hostage deal, revealed that Shiri, Kfir and Ariel were murdered by their captors in November 2023. The investigation concluded they were killed “in cold blood” with “bare hands,” contradicting Hamas claim that they died in an Israeli airstrike.

🔴 Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, one of the terrorists that was likely involved in the abduction of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, has been eliminated.

Awad was a senior commander in the Military Intelligence Array in Gaza and affiliated with senior commanders of the Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/1VvMBKKUyT — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 4, 2025

The IDF said Awad was “likely involved” in their murders during the war’s early weeks. Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, was abducted separately and forced by Hamas to appear in a propaganda video, where he was falsely told his family had perished in an Israeli strike—a claim Israel consistently refuted.

Awad’s terrorist activities extended beyond the Bibas family. He orchestrated the abductions and burials of US-Israeli nationals Judi Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai, both killed during the Nir Oz assault, as well as several Thai nationals taken hostage. Until his death, Awad remained active in recruiting operatives across the West Bank and Israel proper, directing attacks against Israelis. The Mujahideen Brigades confirmed his death, acknowledging his role as a senior military commander and head of its intelligence division, closely tied to the group’s leadership.

The airstrike occurred amid an escalating Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, following the collapse of a fragile two-month ceasefire with Hamas last month. After failed negotiations to extend the truce, Israel intensified its bombing campaign and ground operations, aiming to pressure Hamas into releasing remaining hostages.

On the same day as Awad’s killing, the IDF expanded its ground presence further in northern Gaza, issuing evacuation orders to Palestinians. This followed strikes on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, which Gazan health authorities said resulted in dozens of deaths, including that of children. The IDF claimed the target was a Hamas command centre housing known militants, though no specific names were provided.

Hamas, meanwhile, issued a statement threatening the safety of the hostages still in its custody. The group said the captives were held in evacuation zones that endangered their lives. The latest cycle of violence has further worsened the plight of Gaza’s civilians, caught between the IDF’s aggression and Hamas’s intransigence.