The Israeli military has confirmed the killing of Mohammad Abu Itiwi, a Hamas commander who also worked as an aide for the United Nations, in connection with the October 7, 2023, attacks.

In a statement on Thursday, Israel announced that Mr Itiwi was killed by its forces on Wednesday. 

The statement stated that during the attacks, Mr Itiwi was involved in the murder and abduction of Israeli civilians and led an assault on a bomb shelter along Route 232 in southern Israel, where many victims were attendees of the Nova music festival.

“Abu Itiwi was a Nukhba Commander in the Al Bureij Battalion of Hamas’ Central Camps Brigade who was simultaneously a UNRWA employee. This terrorist was eliminated yesterday in a joint IDF and ISA operation. Will @UNRWA take action against this? Our guess is they won’t,” the statement said.

Mr Itiwi’s death occurred amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestine that were reignited by the October 7 attack.

Last week, Israeli forces also killed Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader and mastermind of the October 7 attack, just months after he took over leadership from Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran in August.

Similarly, on Tuesday, Israel announced the killing of Hashem Safieddine, who was seen as a potential successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in September.