The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Walid Haniyeh, the nephew of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, during an operation in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

Axar.az reports, citing JP, that Walid Haniyeh served as deputy commander of a Hamas Nukhba company and led an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

"Haniyeh was involved in directing and providing operational instructions to the terrorist cell as they took Israeli civilians hostage into the Gaza Strip," the IDF said, adding that he had recently sought to recruit new Hamas operatives.

The IDF said Haniyeh was eliminated in a joint operation with Israel's Shin Bet security agency.