Israeli authorities said Tamer Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sabbagh was the final member of a Hamas cell seen taking Louk’s body into Gaza.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — The Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency said an airstrike in northern Gaza killed a Hamas operative who took part in the abduction of Shani Louk during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The agencies identified the man as Tamer Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sabbagh and said he was killed Monday in the Jabalia area of the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities said al-Sabbagh was the final member of the Hamas cell seen taking Louk into Gaza after she was killed near the Nova music festival. Three other members of the cell had previously been killed and another was captured, according to the Israeli military. The claim about the cell’s status was made by Israeli authorities and could not be independently confirmed.
Louk, a 22-year-old German-Israeli, was attending the Nova music festival near Re’im when Hamas-led militants attacked communities and military positions in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Images and video that circulated widely after the assault showed her apparently lifeless body in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by armed men as the vehicle moved through Gaza. The images became among the most widely recognized scenes from the attack.
The Israeli military said al-Sabbagh crossed into Israel during the Oct. 7 assault and participated in taking Louk’s body into Gaza. The military and Shin Bet also accused him of carrying out attacks against Israeli troops and civilians during the war and of working to rebuild Hamas military capabilities. They said those activities violated the cease-fire and that the strike was carried out to remove what they described as an ongoing threat.
Israeli authorities said precautions were taken before the Jabalia strike to reduce the danger to civilians, including the use of precision weapons and aerial surveillance. The military did not provide a detailed public account of the intelligence used to locate al-Sabbagh, and independent confirmation of the circumstances surrounding the strike was not immediately available.
Louk’s death was confirmed in late October 2023 after Israeli authorities said forensic evidence showed she could not have survived. Her family had initially hoped she might still be alive after images from Gaza appeared online. Israeli officials later said Louk had been killed while fleeing the Nova festival and that her body was taken into Gaza.
Israeli troops recovered Louk’s remains in Gaza in May 2024 during a joint military and Shin Bet operation. The remains of Amit Bouskila and Yitzhak Gelerenter were also recovered in that operation. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, then the military spokesman, said at the time that Israeli intelligence indicated all three had been killed while escaping the festival on Oct. 7 and their bodies were subsequently taken into Gaza.
The attack on the Nova festival was one of the deadliest locations during the broader Oct. 7 assault. Hundreds of people were killed at or near the event, and others were abducted into Gaza. The attack helped trigger the war between Israel and Hamas, which has since resulted in extensive casualties and destruction in Gaza and repeated Israeli military operations against Hamas commanders and fighters.
The military’s announcement about al-Sabbagh came as Israeli forces continued operations against people they identified as Hamas operatives despite the cease-fire framework. Israeli officials said forces remained deployed under the agreement and would continue acting against what they described as immediate threats. Hamas had not been cited in the reports reviewed as issuing a detailed public response to Israel’s account of al-Sabbagh’s death.
Author note: Last updated October 22, 2026.