IDF names three Nukhba members killed in Gaza, including Nir Oz abductor

Update, 28 October, 10:07 Israel time

The IDF has now named the two men it says were killed in the northern Gaza strike on Friday. In a post on X, the Israeli military identified them as Omar Awadallah, whom it described as a Nukhba platoon commander, and Moataz Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Nimr. The version of the post available to us is cut off before it sets out what role the military attributes to Al-Nimr.

Emanuel Fabian, military correspondent for The Times of Israel, relayed the same announcement, saying the military placed Baraka among the attackers who entered Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. The Times of Israel live blog also carried the military's account of three Hamas members killed.

Hebrew outlets reported the announcement in similar terms. Ynet's alert service led on the killing of the man the IDF links to the abduction of Alexander Dancyg and the captivity of Nimrod Cohen, and the Abu Ali Express channel repeated the military's description of Baraka as a Nukhba operative in Hamas's armed wing.

All of these reports rely on the IDF statement. None offers independent evidence of the deaths or of the roles the military assigns to the three men, and there is still no response from Hamas in the material available.

The story as first reported

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it killed three members of Hamas's Nukhba force in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip last week. According to the IDF spokesperson, one of them, Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, was hit last Thursday in the southern part of the territory. The military describes him as a Nukhba operative in Hamas's military wing who entered Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 attack and helped abduct Israeli civilians there.

The military named Alexander Dancyg of Nir Oz among the people Baraka allegedly helped seize. News.co.il, carrying the IDF statement in Hebrew, added that Baraka later helped hold numerous hostages in the south of the Strip over the course of the war, among them Nimrod Cohen. The same statement refers to a further strike in northern Gaza at the end of the week, on Friday, but the text available to us breaks off before naming who was targeted there.

What the military has said

The announcement came from the IDF spokesperson's office and was relayed by Israeli outlets within minutes. A major Israeli television news outlet summarised it as three Nukhba fighters killed in strikes across Gaza in the previous week, and it singled out Baraka as having taken part in the raid on Nir Oz, the abduction of civilians including Alexander Dancyg, and the subsequent holding of hostages including Nimrod Cohen.

All three reports trace back to the same military statement. None of them presents separate evidence about the strikes, the identity of those killed or Baraka's alleged role on October 7.

Who the Nukhba are

Nukhba, an Arabic word meaning "elite", is the name used for commando units within Hamas's armed wing. In Israeli official and media usage, the term is closely associated with the fighters who crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on October 7 and carried out killings and abductions in border communities. The IDF has since regularly identified people it targets in Gaza as Nukhba members, and announcements of this kind often specify what the military says a person did on that day.

Kibbutz Nir Oz and the people named

Nir Oz is a kibbutz, a type of collective rural community, located close to the Gaza border in southern Israel. It was one of the communities attacked on October 7, and residents were among those taken into Gaza as hostages.

Alexander Dancyg is the Nir Oz resident the military names as one of Baraka's abductees. The Hebrew reports attach the abbreviation z"l to his name, a customary Hebrew honorific meaning "of blessed memory" that is used for people who have died. The reports do not describe the circumstances of his death.

Nimrod Cohen is named in the Hebrew coverage as one of the hostages Baraka allegedly helped hold in southern Gaza. The reports do not give further details about him or his current situation, and no honorific is attached to his name in the material we have.

How this fits a familiar pattern

Since the start of the war, the IDF has frequently released statements linking people killed in its strikes to specific acts during the October 7 attack or to the holding of hostages. Such statements typically name the individual, give a general location and timeframe for the strike, and list the victims or hostages the military connects to that person. This announcement follows that format: a named target, a region of Gaza, a day of the week, and named Israelis the military associates with him.

What the reports do not say

• The names and alleged roles of the other two Nukhba members the IDF says it killed are not included in the material available to us. The statement is cut off where the northern Gaza strike is described.
• None of the reports specifies exactly where in southern or northern Gaza the strikes took place, what kind of strike was used, or whether anyone else was killed or hurt.
• The reports do not explain how the military established Baraka's identity or his involvement in the Nir Oz abductions and in holding hostages.
• There is no response from Hamas or from any other party in the material, and no independent confirmation of the deaths.