IDF slays Hamas commander who helped hold hostages

(Oct. 14, 2026 / JNS)

The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that it had eliminated Momen Ahmad Salameh Ay, a commander in the “military wing” of the Hamas terror group, in an airstrike in the Gaza City area on Tuesday.

The IDF said Ay took part in holding hostages and served as an aide to commanders of Hamas’s Gaza Brigade.

“Recently, the terrorist advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and attempted to restore the terrorist organization’s capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military stated.

Measures were taken to mitigate harm to noncombatants, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance, according to the statement.

IDF soldiers remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the U.S.-brokered Oct. 10, 2025, ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove “any immediate threat,” it added.