Hamas confirms senior commander killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza
Hamas said Sunday that one of its senior commanders in Gaza has been killed, a day after Israel announced it had targeted Raed Saad in an airstrike outside Gaza City, News.Az reports, citing the PBS.
In its statement, Hamas identified Saad as the head of its military manufacturing unit. Israel has described him as one of the planners of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war and said he was involved in rebuilding the group in violation of the ceasefire that came into force two months ago.
Israel said it killed Saad after an explosive device detonated and wounded two soldiers in the territory’s south.
Hamas also said it had named a new commander but did not give details.
Saturday’s strike west of Gaza City killed four people, according to an Associated Press journalist who saw their bodies arrive at Shifa Hospital. Another three were wounded, according to Al-Awda hospital. Hamas in its initial statement described the vehicle struck as a civilian one.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations.
Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 391 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has said recent strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks against its soldiers, and that troops have fired on Palestinians who approached the “Yellow Line” between the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza and the rest of the territory.
Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza and called it a condition of moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire. That lays out a vision for ending Hamas’ rule and seeing the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision.
The initial Hamas-led 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
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