The IDF spokesman announced today (Sunday) that last Tuesday, senior Hamas figure Tsaqr Abu Karim, commander of the Nukhaba squad who was one of the leaders of the murderous raid into the Kissufim area in the October 7 massacre, was eliminated in the southern Gaza Strip. The elimination was carried out after Abu Karim blatantly violated the temporary ceasefire agreement, kept numerous weapons in his home and actively worked to restore the terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Tsaqr Abu Karim has been considered one of the main targets of the intelligence services since the outbreak of the war, due to his direct command role in directing and leading the Hamas commando forces that invaded the Kissufim area during Black Sabbath. Throughout the months of fighting, he continued to pose a tangible danger to the system’s forces and functioned as a dominant operational element on the ground.
A statement from the IDF and Shin Bet spokespersons reads: “Last week (Tuesday), the IDF and Shin Bet struck in the southern Gaza Strip And they killed Taqir Abu Karim, commander of the Nuhba squad in the Hamas terrorist organization. Abu Karim was one of the leaders of the raid on the Kissufim area during the October 7 massacre. Throughout the war, Abu Karim promoted and carried out terrorist plots against IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip.”
Despite the temporary ceasefire plan and political understandings, Israeli intelligence identified that Abu Karim took advantage of the lull to restore his squad to full operational readiness in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting, using a civilian environment as cover.
The army detailed the operational reasons that led to the immediate decision to eliminate him last week: “He recently violated the ceasefire agreement and kept numerous weapons in his home, while attempting to rehabilitate the organization and conduct terrorist training in order to promote additional terrorist plots. Along with Tsaqr Abu Karim, another terrorist was eliminated in the attack, who served as a liaison operative in the Hamas terrorist organization. IDF forces in the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to act to eliminate any immediate threat.” The fact that Abu Karim conducted terrorist training and kept weapons caches inside a residential building proves that Hamas continues to adhere to the human shield tactic and exploit the political truce to rearm.