Tank 3 and its crew became one of the most recognizable images of the Oct. 7 massacre after footage showed Hamas terrorists surrounding the burning tank and abducting its soldiers into Gaza.
By United with Israel Staff
The IDF announced Wednesday that it eliminated a Hamas Nukhba cell commander who invaded Israel during the Oct. 7 massacre and participated in the attack and abduction of an Israeli tank crew.
Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza last week, according to the military.
The IDF said Ismail crossed into Israel from the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, and took part in the battle against the soldiers of Tank 3 and the abduction of Capt. Omer Neutra, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Sgt. Nimrod Cohen.
The fourth member of the crew, tank driver Sgt. Shaked Dahan, was killed during the attack.
Hamas Nukhba cell commander Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, who participated in the Oct. 7 invasion and abduction of Israeli tank crew members. (IDF)
Tank 3 and its crew became one of the most recognizable images of the Oct. 7 massacre after footage showed Hamas terrorists surrounding the burning tank and abducting its soldiers into Gaza. Neutra, an American-Israeli who grew up on Long Island before moving to Israel and enlisting in the IDF, commanded the tank.
Neutra and Daniel were later determined to have been killed on Oct. 7, while Cohen survived captivity and returned to Israel after more than two years in Gaza. Neutra and Daniel’s bodies were subsequently returned to Israel for burial.
The IDF said Ismail continued taking part in Hamas operations throughout the war, including ambushes intended to kill Israeli troops.
More recently, he had been advancing plans for attacks against IDF forces and Israeli civilians in what the military described as systematic violations of the ceasefire.
His elimination is the latest in a series of Israeli strikes targeting Hamas commanders involved in the Oct. 7 invasion and massacre.
Israeli forces remain deployed in the Gaza Strip in accordance with the existing agreement and will continue operating to eliminate immediate threats, the IDF said.
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