Israel took down the terrorist who kidnapped two of the symbol hostages of the October 7 massacre

An image from the video shows Saher Nidal Sakr (right) kidnapping Noa Argamani during the October 7, 2023 attack (Israel Defense Forces)The Israeli military confirmed the death of Saher Nidal Sakr, the terrorist it held responsible for the kidnapping of then-Israeli hostages Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, in an Israeli strike carried out on Saturday in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip. According to the military and the Shin Bet, Sakr was linked to "global jihadist organizations" and appeared in a video that became infamously well-known during the Hamas-led invasion, in which he was seen taking Argamani on a motorcycle toward the Strip, after both were kidnapped at the Nova music festival. The video of Argamani and Or's kidnapping became one of the most widely circulated images of the October 7 massacre, with her screaming "Don't kill me!" as she was dragged on a motorcycle and him, forcibly separated, forced to march alongside his captors. Argamani, born in Israel to a Chinese mother, was rescued in June 2024 after 245 days in captivity, in a joint operation by the military, the Shin Bet and the Israeli police that cost the life of an officer from the counterterrorism unit. Or, however, remained captive in isolation for 738 days and was only released in October 2025, as part of a hostage and prisoner exchange deal. The couple reunited that month, two years after being separated at the Nova music festival. Former Israeli hostage Avinatan Or, held captive in Gaza since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, kisses his partner, Noa Argamani —also kidnapped and rescued in 2024—, following his release under the exchange and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Reim, Israel, on October 13, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces/via REUTERS)The strike against Sakr was carried out by the Israeli police's Gideonim 33 Unit. According to the military, the terrorist supplied weapons to Hamas during the war and, more recently, was advancing plans for attacks against Israeli troops and civilians "in cooperation with terrorist operatives from the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement." The military said it had killed him to "eliminate a threat."Another commander linked to the hostages, killed last weekThe military and the Shin Bet also reported the death, in a strike last Tuesday in northern Gaza, of Muhammad Hamad Muhammad Ghabain, a Hamas commander who, according to Israeli forces, participated in the captivity of hostages Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, Eitan Mor, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Keith Siegel and Alon Ohel. All of them were released at various stages of the negotiated process in 2025. The military maintained that Ghabain had most recently been involved in promoting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and in rebuilding Hamas's capabilities, "in systematic violation of the ceasefire," and that he was eliminated to "remove the threat he posed."The announcements came amid a new series of Israeli strikes on the Strip this weekend. On Sunday, the Israeli military killed a Palestinian following a strike on Mawasi, near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. According to staff at the Al Naser hospital in Gaza, a man identified as Odai Adli Al Assar, 28, died as a result of an Israeli military drone strike. On Saturday, the military had already killed two other people in the Strip: a man in Nuseirat following a drone strike —Sakr himself— and a second in Mawasi, who died from gunfire by Israeli troops. Despite the ceasefire that has been in effect for nearly a year, Israel launches daily strikes in Gaza that cause fatalities, sometimes using drones aimed at specific targets it usually attributes to alleged Hamas members —but which often also kill women and children— and at other times against Palestinians who approach the so-called yellow line, where Israeli troops are stationed. According to the latest count by the Gaza Health Ministry controlled by the Hamas terrorists, which does not include the deaths from this weekend, Israeli troops have killed 74,016 people since the start of the offensive in October 2023, of whom 1,415 have died since the ceasefire came into effect.