Israel has said that Hamas’ spokesman, Abu Obeida, has been killed in an air strike in Gaza City.
Israel Katz, Israel’s Defence Minister, congratulated the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, for the “flawless execution” in a post on X (formerly twitter).
No detail has been given on the time or location of the operation, but the IDF earlier said its aircraft attacked “a key terrorist” in the al-Rimal neighbourhood on Saturday.
Hamas has not confirmed the death of its spokesman. The Palestinian armed group earlier said dozens of civilians were killed and injured in Israeli strikes on a residential building in the district.
Earlier today, Katz warned that many more of Obeida’s “criminal partners” would be targeted with “the intensification of the campaign in Gaza.”
On Saturday, IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement that the operation had been “made possible due to prior intelligence” gathered by Shin Bet and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate that had identified Obeida’s hiding place.
Obeida was among the few remaining senior members of Hamas’s military wing from before its deadly 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.
