Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in Gaza, a day after Israel said it had killed Raed Saad in a strike outside Gaza City.
Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of a senior commander in Gaza, a day after Israel said it had killed Raed Saad in an airstrike near Gaza City.
In its statement, Hamas identified Saad as the head of its military manufacturing unit. Israel had previously described him as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, attacks that ignited the Gaza conflict and said he had been “involved in rebuilding the terrorist organisation,” violating the ceasefire that took effect two months ago.
According to Israel, Saad was targeted following the detonation of an explosive device in southern Gaza that injured two soldiers.
Hamas also announced the appointment of a new commander, though it provided no further details.
Saturday’s strike west of Gaza City killed four people, an Associated Press journalist reported, observing the victims’ bodies being taken to Shifa Hospital. Another three individuals were injured, according to Al-Awda Hospital. Hamas initially described the targeted vehicle 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.
Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,660 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
With inputs from agencies
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