All five of the Hamas terrorists who guarded kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit are now known to be dead. Hamas admitted on Tuesday that Abd al-Rahman al-Mubasar, the last living captor, was killed by a collapsed smuggling tunnel in Gaza on Monday.
The others who guarded Shalit were identified as Sami al-Hamaidah, Abdallah Labad, Khaled Abu Bachrah, and Mahmoud Rashid Daoud.
Shalit was kidnapped in 2006 when a cell of Hamas terrorists exited a tunnel near Shalit’s base. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the assault, and Shalit was injured and captured. He was held until 2011, when Israel released over one thousand terrorists in exchange for his freedom.
Egypt has been attempting to combat the Hamas smuggling tunnels, out of concern that Hamas was using the tunnels to help ISIS-affiliated Sinai terror groups who had been attacking Egyptian troops. Recent reports have indicated that Hamas is now both funding and coordinating operations with ISIS’s Sinai branch.
The country declared last year that it would create a buffer zone in the Sinai along its border with Gaza. Egypt has also been flooding the tunnels, often leading to collapses. Earlier this month, Egypt announced the destruction of 20 newly-discovered tunnels.
Sources have estimated that as many as 400 people have died in Hamas’s tunnels, including more than 160 children. Hamas spends upwards of $140 million per year on the tunnels.