Hamas terrorist who held Emily Damari hostage killed in targeted IDF strike
Nasr Ali Quneita, part of 7 October assault and linked to Hamas military intelligence, eliminated in Gaza
The Hamas militant who held British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari captive at the start of the war has been killed in a precision Israeli airstrike, the IDF has confirmed.
Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, identified as a member of Hamas’s military intelligence wing in the Sheikh Radwan Battalion, was struck on 19 June in Gaza City following a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet.
The Israeli military said Quneita took part in the 7 October massacre that saw 1,200 people killed and more than 240 abducted. He later held Damari, then 27, inside his home in Gaza.
“This is what the face of evil looks like,” Damari wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of her former captor. “A face I will never forget. I’m so glad he is no longer in our world.”
Damari was freed in January after 417 days in captivity. She had been shot during the attack and was treated with expired iodine and makeshift stitches by Hamas members. Two of her fingers were amputated, and she has undergone multiple operations since returning from captivity.
Reacting to news of Quneita’s death, she added: “The real victory will be when Gali, Ziv, and the other 48 hostages return home.”
Just 20 of the 50 remaining captives are currently believed to be alive.
Describing her ordeal, Damari recalled Quneita leading her through tunnels beneath Gaza: “There is no air, no light, and no desire to live,” she said. “He looked at me with a swindler’s smile and said, ‘That’s it, you’re going home tomorrow.’ I told him he was a liar – and between the two of us, I was right.”
An IDF spokesperson said: “We will keep pursuing every terrorist behind the 7 October massacre.”
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