The terrorist who led the abduction of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet announced on Friday.
Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Awad, a senior commander in the Mujahideen Brigades, entered Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led 7 October, 2023, onslaught and led the abduction of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, according to a joint statement. The IDF added that Awad was “likely involved in their murder” during the early weeks of the war.
The Bibas family were among the most widely recognised faces of the 7 October hostage crisis. Nine-month-old Kfir was the youngest Israeli held captive. The three were murdered in captivity, contrary to Hamas claims they were killed in an airstrike.
Awad was also behind the abduction of US-Israeli nationals Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein, both later killed, and several Thai farm workers, the IDF said.
In the same strike campaign, Israel also eliminated Mohammed Saleh al-Bardawil, described as a key figure in Hamas’s propaganda apparatus, and Saeed Ahmad Abed Khudari, who oversaw financial transfers to the group’s military wing.
