Gaza Genocide23 September, 20262 min read
Israeli Forces Kill Qassam Brigades Commander Mahmoud Abdul-Fattah Awwad In Gaza City
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Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad, Hamas Qassam Brigades commander, killed in Gaza City airstrike. He allegedly held seven Israeli hostages in a tunnel during the war.
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Hostages, strikes, and deaths
The Israeli occupation army announced the assassination of Mahmoud Abdul-Fattah Awwad, described as a commander in the Qassam Brigades, and the army said in a statement that the person it killed "participated in taking Israeli hostages inside an underground tunnel in Gaza City." The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the sector's hospitals received in the last 24 hours 5 martyrs and 35 wounded, and it said the toll of martyrs of the genocide being committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians since October 2023 had increased to 73,928 martyrs.
Medical sources in Gaza reported the martyrdom of Muhannad Husni Abu Madin by the bullets of the Israeli army in the Al-Zahra area in the central Gaza Strip, and Palestinian media outlets quoted medical sources as saying he was martyred by Israeli gunboats’ bullets off the Al-Zahra area, northwest of Al-Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation army also announced that it attacked Gaza City at the end of last week and killed Mahmoud Abdul-Fattah Awwad, and the army claimed in its statement that he had recently worked on developing plans to carry out attacks against Israeli forces and Israelis.
IDF names and targets
The IDF said a Hamas commander who held seven Israeli hostages was killed in a strike in Gaza City over the weekend, and the military announced that the strike killed Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad. The IDF said Awad held hostages Daniela Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, and Eitan Mor in a tunnel in Gaza City.
The IDF said Awad recently planned and advanced attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and acted to restore Hamas capabilities, "in systematic violation of the ceasefire," and the military said the terrorist was eliminated from the air to remove the threat he posed. The IDF also confirmed killing Hamas’s chief financial officer Muhammad Abu Alwan in southern Gaza yesterday, and the military said he directed the transfer of over a billion dollars to Hamas during the war, "making him a key figure in maintaining the organization’s rule and survival."
Ceasefire violations and wider impact
The Al-Jazirah Net account said the developments came amid ongoing daily Israeli violations of the ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10, 2025. The Al-Jazirah Net account said Israeli violations of the ceasefire up to today resulted in the martyrdom of 1,408 Palestinians, while the number of injuries reached 4,916, according to the latest data from the Gaza health ministry.
The Reuters account said Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and it said Israel targeted a Hamas finance chief in one of the attacks. The Reuters account quoted a joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz saying, "We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength, and we will not stop until Hamas no longer exists in Gaza," while Hamas did not immediately comment.