IDF kills Hamas terrorist linked to Mia Schem abduction, dismantles 8 tunnels

(May 8, 2026 / JNS ) The IDF has killed several terrorists, including one who participated in the abduction of a young Israeli woman on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli army said on Thursday.

Israel also dismantled eight Hamas tunnels, according to the army.

The IDF on April 29 “struck and eliminated Ibrahim Abu Tzakar, a Hamas terrorist who operated as a paramedic and led numerous attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement, which it said followed its “intelligence analysis” confirming Abu Tzakar’s death.

He had “participated in the abduction of Mia Schem from the area of Mefalsim,” the statement said.

Mia Schem was abducted on Oct. 7 from the grounds of the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im.

Schem, a French–Israeli citizen, was 21 years old at the time of her abduction. She was shot in the arm at point-blank range by a Hamas terrorist.

After three days, Schem was forced to undergo surgery for her wound. For days, she received no painkillers and had to replace her own bandages.

She was returned as part of a hostage release agreement in November 2023.

Separately, the IDF eliminated on Thursday armed Hamas terrorists in a command center in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF also said, adding they had posed “an imminent threat” to Israeli troops.

“The command center was struck while armed terrorists were inside, operating to advance and carry out terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.”

Several terrorists were killed in the strike, according to the statement.

The IDF took steps “to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance,” the statement said.

One of the eight tunnels dismantled was a route belonging to the eastern Rafah terror infrastructure network, the IDF said.

Reservists from the Gaza Division’s Negev Infantry Brigade have been working for months to “clear the area of terrorist infrastructure,” the statement also said.

Those troops and the Yahalom Unit, an elite force belonging to the Combat Engineering Corps, dismantled eight tunnels spanning 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) used by Hamas, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The Paratroopers Brigade is set to replace the Negev Brigade in the near future, the IDF also said.