‘Have fun in hell’: IDF kills Islamic Jihad man who held Rom Braslavski hostage, abused him

Freed hostage Rom Braslavski on Tuesday rejoiced at the news that the Islamic Jihad terrorist who held and abused him in captivity had been killed in a recent strike by the Israel Defense forces, telling him to “Have fun in hell.”

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday the killing of three senior terror operatives, including figures closely involved in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, one of whom subsequently held Israeli captives whom terrorists kidnapped during the rampage.

Among them was Talel Abd al-Aal, who held several roles in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, and was killed in a strike in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to a a joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet.

“Al-Aal commanded a cell of terrorists that invaded Israel and took part in the October 7 massacre,” the military said, adding that during the subsequent war he held hostages who were in PIJ’s captivity.

The IDF in recent months has been ramping up strikes on terror operatives in Gaza, including several October 7 terrorists, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces.

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Braslavski, sharing a video of him being informed of his captor’s killing, described how he burst into tears after receiving the news that “changed my life.”

pic.twitter.com/4wrjnegETk

— Rom Braslavski (@RomBraslavski) June 30, 2026

“This is Talal Abd al-Aal. Or as I know him — Abu Yusuf. This is the man who weighed 100 kilograms and jumped on my neck while I was malnourished,” he wrote.

“This is the man who forced me, while my hands and feet were tied and my body was covered in bruises, very close to death, to open my mouth and spat into it,” Braslavski continued.

“This is the commander who was in charge of me and led the terrorist cell that held me captive for an entire year. This is the commander who gave the order: Tie up Abu Salem (me) and abuse him,” the post went on.

“This is the man who, under his orders and with his own hands, abused me and almost killed me several times. This is him.”

In conclusion, Braslavski wrote: “Remember when you told me to pass a message to the Shin Bet? That you gave a middle finger to the drones and that you weren’t afraid of them? The message has been delivered. Have fun in hell, you son of a ****.”

Braslavski, who was freed in October after two years of captivity in Gaza, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival near Re’im. Over 370 people were killed when terrorists stormed the festival and carried out acts of brutality and sexual assault, and dozens were taken hostage.

Braslavski revealed in November that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who held him captive in Gaza repeatedly sexually assaulted and tortured him.

IDF strikes kill PIJ Oct. 7 invader, Hamas arms smuggler

Separately, the military announced that a strike on Monday killed Ali Qaid Mohammed Stitan, identified by the IDF as a platoon commander in Islamic Jihad’s elite forces, who participated in the 2023 terror rampage.

“Ali Qaid infiltrated Israeli territory during the October 7 massacre,” the IDF said, adding that during the war and recently, he attempted to advance attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.

“The terrorist posed a threat to our troops operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike,” the military added.

And, later, the IDF and Shin Bet announced they had killed the commander of the Yabna Battalion in Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, in a strike on Monday.

Mohammad Fathi Abd al-Hay Abu Fakher had recently been working to recruit new terrorists to the battalion, along with “attempting to restore the battalion’s capabilities in order to attack IDF troops,” the military said.

Abu Fakher was a veteran commander in Hamas, previously serving as a senior officer in the terror group’s supply department. The military said that for two decades he was “a central figure in the terrorist organization’s smuggling network,” leading efforts to bring weapons into the Gaza Strip.

Israeli envoy spotlights ‘journalists’ revealed to be fighters

At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon presented a mock-quiz called “Journalist or terrorist?”, after Palestinian terror groups’ recent obituaries for a number of supposed journalists killed in the Gaza war identified them as fighters.

“Israel is condemned again and again and again,” Danon told the council. “A claim is made against Israel. The UN repeats it and then the world condemns it. Then when the truth comes out — it takes time, sometimes weeks, months, years — no apology, no correction, no retraction. They move on. We will not move on.”

Danon held up several photos of ostensible members of the press killed in Gaza, before flipping them to reveal their role as combatants.

“The same propaganda campaign was repeated here by New York City’s mayor. Mr. [Zohran] Mamdani stood before a crowd… He said Israel killed an Al Jazeera journalist, Ahmed Wishah,” Danon said.

“Mr. Mamdani, we have the video, we have the evidence. This is Ahmed Wishah, the one that you condemned us for eliminating,” he said, flipping the photo to show Wishah sporting a jihadist headband and a rifle. “A Hamas terrorist, a sniper in Hamas’s military wing.”

The envoy went on: “This is the machine. Hamas makes a claim, the NGO ecosystem, rapporteurs, briefers, all repeat the lies. Then a UN report rubberstamps it, the world’s media broadcasts it, and Israel is condemned before the facts are even checked.”

Hamas officials in Cairo for talks on Gaza truce

A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Monday to hold talks with Egyptian officials and other mediators regarding the Gaza ceasefire.

According to senior Hamas official Taher Nunu, the top priorities of the delegation — headed by Zaher Jabarin, the group’s West Bank leader — are “stopping Israeli violations” of the ceasefire in the Strip, rebuilding hospitals, bakeries, and infrastructure, and completing discussions on the roadmap for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

That phase should include, according to Trump’s plan, Hamas’s disarmament and the transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

In recent months, the Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, has insisted that the main obstacle preventing the NCAG from entering Gaza is Hamas’s refusal to give up its weapons.

Diplomats from each of the Middle Eastern mediating countries — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — told The Times of Israel that Hamas has sought to drag out negotiations on the issue. They also argued that Israel’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the first phase of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire has posed a major obstacle as well.

Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the ceasefire in October 2025, according to the Hamas‑run health ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Five Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.

Alongside the strikes across Gaza, the IDF has slowly been pushing out the boundaries of the area inside the enclave still under its control, saying it now controls at least 60 percent of the Strip, rather than the roughly 53% following its pullback on the first day of the truce. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month he had ordered the military to retake additional territory, amounting to 70% of the enclave.

In the areas not controlled by Israel, Hamas remains in place as the enclave’s de facto government, as power will only be handed over to a transitional authority once the terror group agrees to give up its weapons.

Although battered by war, the terror group is reported to be maintaining its control over the Strip by executing its opponents and those it views as posing a threat to its rule.

A report on Sunday said the IDF assessed Hamas is producing hundreds of explosive devices and anti-tank missiles every month, recruiting new fighters, and rebuilding underground infrastructure.