Terrorist who called father about killing Israelis eliminated in strike

A Hamas has reportedly been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, according to Israeli media on Saturday.

The fighter was identified as Mahmoud Afana, a member of Hamas’s Nukhba unit. Shortly after infiltrating Kibbutz Mefalsim on 7 October, Afana phoned his parents and described killing 10 Israelis.

"I'm talking to you from a Jewish woman's phone. I killed her and her husband. I killed ten with my own hands," he was heard telling his father in the call. The recording, first released by then-Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen, was later presented at a UN Security Council session.

Afana also urged his father to check WhatsApp for images of those killed. "Open your WhatsApp and look at all the killed [Israelis]. Look at how many I killed with my own hands, your son killed Jews!" he said. Reports noted that his father was heard crying with joy as Afana suggested making a video call to show the aftermath of the massacre.