IDF eliminates Hamas commander involved in holding hostages

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.5 findings

The IDF on Thursday struck in the Nuseirat area and eliminated Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya, a squad commander in the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed on Friday. Abu Taqiya was involved in holding numerous hostages at the beginning of the war, including Raya Rotem, Hila Rotem Shoshani, Emily Hand, Ohad Ben Ami, Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, Maxim Herkin, Yosef Haim Ohana, Segev Kalfon, Alexander Lobanov.

Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba, a platoon commander in Hamas’ military wing, was also eliminated in the strike. Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya IDF Spokesperson's Unit The IDF noted that, throughout the war, and particularly recently, the terrorists advanced terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and operated to restore the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization, in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The terrorists were eliminated in an aerial strike to remove the threat they posed.

Prior to the strike, measures were taken to minimize harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance. “IDF troops under the Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate to remove any threat," concluded the IDF statement. According to an earlier announcement, the IDF also eliminated on Thursday Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, a Nukhba terrorist in Hamas’ military wing, in a strike in southern Gaza.

Baraka took part in the abduction of several Israeli civilians during the October 7th Massacre, including Alexander Dancyg from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Additionally, during the war, he assisted in holding numerous hostages, including Nimrod Cohen in the southern Gaza Strip. (Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)

Read the original article on israelnationalnews.com

What we found (5)

Arutz Sheva reports an Israeli air strike in Nuseirat and a second strike in southern Gaza without once saying that anyone was killed: every death is written as an elimination. In its own voice it labels the dead as terrorists and states the army's claims about the men, the threat they posed and the care taken for civilians as fact. Every source is the military, and the headline drops the attribution the body gives.

Writes the death out
Severe
“eliminates”
Why this matters
The headline uses "eliminates" for an air strike that killed a man.
The impression it gives
A reader takes in a clean military result, not a killing by an air strike.
The context
Israeli occupation forces killed Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya in an air strike. The Jerusalem Post, reporting the same event, writes that the army killed him. The word kill never appears anywhere in this article.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“The IDF killed a Hamas squad commander”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “kill”.
Show it in the article
“eliminated Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya”
Why this matters
The opening sentence says the army "eliminated" a named man rather than killed him.
The impression it gives
The reader meets the named person only as a target removed, never as a man killed.
The context
He was killed in an Israeli air strike in the Nuseirat area, as other coverage of the same strike says plainly.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat area on Thursday”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“was also eliminated in the strike”
Why this matters
A second death is added in the passive as an elimination, with no actor and no word for killing.
The impression it gives
A reader reads a second man's death as a by-product of the operation, not as another person killed.
The context
Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba was killed in the same Israeli strike.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“was also killed in the strike, according to the military”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“eliminated in an aerial strike to remove the threat they posed”
Why this matters
The outlet pairs "eliminated" with "remove the threat", two of the phrases that turn killing into risk management.
The impression it gives
The reader comes away thinking the deaths were a defensive necessity, not killings carried out by an air strike during a ceasefire.
The context
Two men were killed by an Israeli air strike. The threat they posed is the army's claim, which other coverage attributes to the military.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“The military said the strike was carried out to remove the threat they posed”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
Israeli occupation forces killed two men, Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya and Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba, in an air strike in Nuseirat on Thursday. The army said both were Hamas commanders.
Labels people on one side's word
Severe
“The terrorists”
Why this matters
In its own unattributed voice the outlet calls the two men killed "The terrorists".
The impression it gives
The reader takes it as established fact that the dead were terrorists.
The context
The only basis given for who these men were is the army's statement. The Jerusalem Post attributes the same identifications to the military.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed on Friday”
- The Jerusalem Post reported“according to the military”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“a Nukhba terrorist in Hamas’ military wing”
Why this matters
The outlet labels another man killed, Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, "a Nukhba terrorist" on the strength of an army announcement.
The impression it gives
A reader accepts the label as a verified description of the dead man.
The context
The label comes from the army alone. Other coverage of these strikes describes such men as people the army "identified as" Nukhba operatives.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“whom it identified as a Nukhba operative in Hamas's military wing”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
States one side's claim as fact
Serious
“Abu Taqiya was involved in holding numerous hostages at the beginning of the war”
Why this matters
The outlet states the army's account of the dead man's role as plain fact, with no attribution in the sentence.
The impression it gives
A reader takes his role in holding the named hostages as proven.
The context
This is the army's claim. The Jerusalem Post attributes the same sentence to the army.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“The IDF said Abu Taqiya had been involved in holding numerous hostages”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“Prior to the strike, measures were taken to minimize harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.”
Why this matters
The outlet asserts in its own voice that measures were taken to protect civilians.
The impression it gives
The reader believes it is established that civilians were protected in this strike.
The context
This is what the military said. Other coverage attributes it to the army, and the outlet offers no independent account of civilian harm.
How we know
- The Jerusalem Post reported“emphasized that measures were taken to reduce harm to civilians before the strike”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“Baraka took part in the abduction of several Israeli civilians during the October 7th Massacre”
Why this matters
The outlet states as fact that a man killed in a strike took part in abductions, with no attribution in the sentence.
The impression it gives
A reader takes his part in the abductions as proven.
The context
The source for everything about Baraka is an army announcement, which the outlet itself names only one sentence earlier.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“According to an earlier announcement”
Show it in the article
Written straight
The army said Abu Taqiya had been involved in holding hostages and that it took measures to limit harm to civilians before the strike.
Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“IDF eliminates Hamas commander involved in holding hostages”
Why this matters
The headline states the man's rank and his role in holding hostages as fact and drops the attribution to the army that the body gives.
The impression it gives
A reader who sees only the headline believes the man's identity and role are established.
The context
The body rests every claim about the man on the army's spokesperson's unit. Other coverage attributes the claim to the military and the Shin Bet.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit confirmed on Friday”
- The Jerusalem Post reported“the military and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said in a joint statement on Friday”IDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
Israeli strike kills man the army says was Hamas commander who held hostages
One side gets the space
Minor
“concluded the IDF statement”
Why this matters
The outlet ends its account with the army's own statement, having used no other source.
The impression it gives
A reader is given the army's account as the whole story of the strikes.
The context
No Palestinian source, local witness or health official appears anywhere in the article. The army's statements are the only voice on who was killed and why.
Show it in the article

How other outlets reported it

The Jerusalem PostIDF kills Hamas commander involved in holding Noa Argamani, 11 other hostages (opens in a new tab)

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Everything we scored from Arutz Sheva / Israel National News

IDF eliminates Hamas commander involved in holding hostages

Writes the death out

Labels people on one side's word

States one side's claim as fact

Headline goes beyond the article

One side gets the space

How other outlets reported it

More from Arutz Sheva / Israel National News