Israel targets senior Hamas official in deadly Gaza strike
Israel announced that a senior Hamas commander was killed in an attack on a vehicle in Gaza on Saturday.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it “shot an important Hamas terrorist” in Gaza City.
Hamas-run Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told the BBC that four people died in the attack. It was stated that many people passing by were injured in the explosion.
Local sources said that the attack may have targeted Raed Saad, one of the senior commanders of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The BBC is prevented by Israel from reporting independently from inside Gaza and is unable to confirm details of the incident.
Saad is believed to be a member of the newly formed five-member military leadership council that has been in place since the ceasefire came into force in October.
He is considered one of the most prominent Qassam commanders and led several brigades during Hamas’ attacks on Israeli communities east of Gaza City on October 7.
Israel attempted to kill him many times.
One of the most notable attempts took place in March 2024 during a surprise operation in Israel’s Gaza City, where Israeli forces were said to have tried to arrest or kill him. Sources at the time said Saad was inside the targeted complex but managed to escape minutes before the raid.
He has long been considered one of Israel’s most wanted Hamas figures due to Israeli attempts to kill him spanning more than two decades.
Saturday’s attack took place on the Palestinian-controlled side of the so-called Yellow Line, which has divided Gaza since an unstable US-led ceasefire came into force on October 10.
Israeli forces control the area east of the line, which covers slightly more than half of the Gaza Strip.
The first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for peace in the region called for the return of all 20 living and 28 dead hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Approximately 1,200 people lost their lives in the attack, and more than 250 people were taken hostage.
All were returned except the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old Israeli police officer believed to have been killed while fighting Hamas gunmen at Kibbutz Alumim.
Since then, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military offensives, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Diplomatic focus is now shifting to the next phase of President Trump’s plan, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas as part of what he calls the de-radicalization and redevelopment of Gaza.
Gaza is envisaged to be governed by a “temporary interim administration consisting of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” overseen by a “Peace Board” chaired by Trump.
Security will be provided by the International Stabilization Force, although its structure remains unclear.
The ultimate goal is for a reformed Palestinian Authority to gain control of the region and for Israeli forces to withdraw, after which “conditions for a credible path to Palestinian self-determination and statehood may finally be in place”.
Many aspects of the plan are controversial in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Trump will meet with Netanyahu in the USA on December 29 to discuss the plan.
