Tel Aviv (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Israel executed a strike against Abu Obeida, the spokesman of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
“We have struck the Hamas spokesman, the spokesman for this criminal and murderous organisation, Abu Obeida. I hope he is no longer with us, but I notice that there is no one on the Hamas side to clarify this matter,”
Netanyahu said, according to a readout of a government meeting.
“We still don’t know the final result. I hope he is no longer with us,”
Netanyahu said during a government meeting.
A day earlier, Hamas also verified on Saturday that Mohammad Sinwar, its Gaza military chief, had died, a few months after Israel claimed to have killed him in a strike in May.
Hamas did not specify the circumstances of Sinwar’s death but released images of him with other group leaders, calling them “martyrs.” Mohammad Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, who co-planned the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and was killed by Israel in combat a year later.
How has Israel’s campaign weakened Hamas’ chain of command?
Israel has killed numerous top Hamas leaders in a string of military operations over the last two years, which has crippled the group’s chain of command. This targeted campaign by Israel aims to dismantle Hamas’s command hierarchy and limit its ability to plan and execute attacks.
Mohammed Deif, who was leading the military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli air strike in July 2024. Deif was thought to be the commander-in-chief behind the large attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s political leader in Gaza and the group’s chief decision maker, was killed in a confrontation with Israeli military forces in October 2024.
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