JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that a strike in the southern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander who led a cell that abducted Israeli civilians during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

The IDF identified the man as Muhammad Khalil Muhammad Aslam, a platoon commander in Islamic Jihad’s elite forces. The strike took place Monday in Khan Younis.

“During the October 7 massacre, Aslam commanded a terrorist cell that participated in the abduction of Israeli civilians,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF said it carried out the strike despite the ongoing ceasefire because Aslam had recently been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians.

“The terrorist posed an immediate threat and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike,” the army said.