IDF kills Bibas family’s kidnapper & likely murderer in Gaza airstrike

The terrorist who oversaw the kidnapping of the Bibas family on Oct. 7, 2023 – and was likely responsible for their murders – was killed in an airstrike carried out by Israeli military troops and the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Israel Defense Forces announced Friday.

Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar personally called former Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas to update him about the elimination of Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, who was responsible for the death of his wife Shiri and their two young boys, Ariel and Kfir.

The IDF said that Awad was “a senior military commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization who infiltrated Nir Oz, oversaw the abductions of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas and was most likely involved in their murders.”

The Mujahideen Brigade is one of a myriad of smaller terror groups in Gaza. It is mainly based in the enclave but also has operatives in Judea and Samaria.

During the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel, some of the Mujahideen terrorists participated in the invasion led by Hamas, and a cell of its operatives kidnapped Shiri and their young sons from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

The three Bibas family members were last seen on security camera footage, being dragged along by their captors somewhere in the city of Khan Younis.

Their bodies were released as part of the ceasefire-hostage deal in February during a horrifying recorded spectacle by Hamas. The body initially believed to be Shiri Bibas was later found not to be hers. Forensic analysis by Israeli experts confirmed that her remains were not among those first handed over. It was later determined that Shiri and her children had been murdered by their captors.

“They were all murdered in cold blood, bare-handed,” Yarden confirmed in a recent interview. “They [Hamas] used to tell me, 'Oh, doesn't matter. You'll get a new wife. Get new kids. Better wife. Better kids.'” 

"Awad was also behind the abductions and subsequent burial of Israeli hostages Gad and Judi Lynn Weinstein, as well as the kidnapping of several Thai nationals.

“Awad was actively involved until his death in recruiting terror operatives in Judea and Samaria and within Israel, through whom he used to plan and carry out attacks against Israelis,” the IDF said.

“During the war, the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization and Mohammed Awad in particular were involved in the execution of terrorist attacks against the State of Israel and IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to operate to locate and eliminate all of the terrorists from different terrorist organizations who took part in the murderous Oct. 7 massacre.”

Following the report of Awad’s death, Jimmy Miller, a cousin of Shiri, told Ynet News: “I wanted this monster and all his subordinates to die in great agony, not from a single bullet. That would have made me much happier.”

“People like this deserve to die in suffering and agony. A bullet is an easy death compared to what they did to Shiri and the children. I have no satisfaction or joy from his elimination. I would have been satisfied if I knew he died a slow and torturous death.”

“Hamas and all the factions in Gaza need to understand one important thing: If they want to see their friends, their family members, return to them alive from Israeli prisons, they must keep the hostages in their hands as they would keep diamonds. The State of Israel needs to take the gloves off,” said Miller.