On June 5, the IDF said they had retrieved the bodies of Judith Weinstein Haggai and her husband, Gadi Haggai. They were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Their bodies were held in Gaza for almost twenty months.
Judith was seventy years old and Gadi was seventy-two when they were murdered. The IDF said that the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization murdered the two. They had Israeli and US citizenship.
This is the same terrorist group that is believed to have also kidnapped and killed Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir. Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the father of the children was released on February 1, 2025. They were kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7.
Nir Oz was overrun by terrorists on October 7. It is a community of 420 residents of whom 386 were at the community on October 7. Forty-seven people were killed at Nir Oz on October 7, according to a full investigation the IDF conducted. However, the IDF did not reach Nir Oz until the terrorists had left the kibbutz.
Terrorists attacked the Kibbutz around 6:50 am and held it until around noon, when the hundreds of terrorists began to leave. Several terrorist groups were involved in taking over the community and in massacre and kidnapping.
What is known about the Mujahideen group? First, it is worth knowing a bit about the crimes of the group and the other terrorists on October 7.
According to the investigation, seventy-six people were kidnapped from the community, sixty-seven of whom were alive. Thirteen of those 67 living hostages were killed in Gaza. By March 2025 a total of five hostages presumed to be alive were still held in Gaza and nine deceased hostages were held.
Today, with the return of the bodies of Gadi and Judith, it would appear that seven deceased hostages are believed to be held in Gaza from the community, along with the living hostages.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement is also known as the Palestinian Mujahideen Brigades. The group is believed to have been founded in 2006. The European Council on Foreign Relations says that “The Mujahideen Brigades are the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement.
The Mujahideen group operates in Gaza and the West Bank
They operate in both Gaza and the West Bank (including Jenin). The secretary general of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement is Dr. As’ad Abu Shari’a. The Brigades have claimed responsibility for rocket fire against Israel and operate in cooperation with Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades.
The group also participated in the 7 October 2023 attacks against Israel alongside Hamas and several other Palestinian armed groups.”
An article by Joe Truzman at FDD’s Long War Journal in 2020 noted that the “Mujahideen Brigades’ military capability compares similarly to the other small militant groups in the Gaza Strip. Small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, locally-manufactured mortars, and short-range rockets make up the majority of the military capability the group possesses.”
Throughout the war that began with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the Mujahideen have not played a major role. However, they have held the dead bodies of hostages, and they were involved in some fighting in Gaza.
On June 4 a man named Abu Bilal, who is the spokesperson for the Mujahideen, had claimed that the IDF’s casualties in Gaza are much larger than the IDF has said. He also said that the group has recruited many new members. This comes as Hamas continues to suffer losses. In general, the group does not put out many statements.
On February 25, 2025, the group released a video that was shown on Middle East Eye. It showed a “field commander” of the Mujahideen Brigades saying that Shiri Bibas was an “active Israeli soldier,” as an excuse to why the group kidnapped her.
The group claimed she and the children were killed in an airstrike and that the group also lost members who were guarding her. The group later took part in the handover ceremony of the corpses of Shiri and her two children on February 20.
In early April 2025, the IDF eliminated Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, who is believed to have been a senior member of the Mujahideen group. Awad “commanded the kidnappings of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas,” during the October 7, 2023, atrocities and was “probably personally involved” in their murders, the IDF said on April 4. He is also believed to have been involved in kidnapping Gadi and Judith, and also kidnapping Thai workers.
The Mujahideen terrorist group continues to play a role in Gaza. It both carries out attacks and tries to present itself as speaking on behalf of Palestinians. For instance, Middle East Eye said the group put out a statement in March condemning Israeli raids in the West Bank.
“This new aggression is part of the policy of siege and starvation that targets the foundations of our people’s steadfastness and aims to break their will,” the group said. It clearly wants to expand its influence in Gaza and the West Bank.
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