The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that they have killed the last known Hamas operative involved in the kidnapping and murder of Shani Louk during the October 7, 2023, attack that targeted civilians at the Nova music festival in southern Israel.

Tamer Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sabbagh, who was identified from video footage showing him abducting Louk and parading her half-naked body through Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The strike also targeted two other individuals: senior Hamas officer Shaaban Yassin and Akram Bassam. According to the IDF, al-Sabbagh was based in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza and was actively working to plan additional attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel. The Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence agency stated that his activities violated the cease-fire agreement in place in the region.

Al-Sabbagh had been seen in a widely circulated Associated Press photograph sitting next to Louk’s body in the bed of a pickup truck with other Hamas militants, moments after the initial assault on the festival. The image became a potent symbol of the brutality of Hamas during the attack that left more than 360 civilians dead. In the days following the massacre, several of the men captured on video were either killed or apprehended by Israeli forces, with al-Sabbagh remaining at large until this week.

The IDF described the operation targeting al-Sabbagh as a necessary step to neutralize an ongoing threat. “The terrorist was eliminated in order to remove the threat he posed,” the military said in a statement.

Shani Louk, a 22-year-old tattoo artist who also held German citizenship, was among those kidnapped in the attack. Her body was later recovered by the Israeli military during a separate operation in Rafah, Gaza, and was returned to Israel. She was laid to rest in a public funeral held in May 2024, an event marked by expressions of grief and disbelief from her family. At the time, her mother, Ricarda Louk, said she had not expected to see her daughter’s remains.

The killing of al-Sabbagh marks the conclusion of Israel’s efforts to bring to justice those directly involved in Louk’s kidnapping and murder during one of the deadliest attacks in recent Israeli history.