Hamas confirms Israel's killing of top Gaza military leader

DOHA, Qatar: Hamas’s Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya confirmed on Sunday that the head of the group’s weapons production was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip the day before.

Speaking in a televised address on the militant group’s Al-Aqsa TV, Hayya said: “The Palestinian people are currently going through difficult times and suffering greatly… with the martyrdom of more than 70,000 people, the latest of whom was the mujahid commander Raed Saad and his companions.”

Israel announced on Saturday that it had killed Raed Saad, describing him as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Israel said it killed the head of weapons production in Hamas’s military wing in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

The civil defence agency and medical sources in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory told AFP an Israeli strike killed five people in the Tel al-Hawa district, southwest of Gaza City.

Contacted by AFP, the army said there was only one strike conducted in the area which killed the top Hamas figure, Raad Saad.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli troops have withdrawn to positions behind the so-called Yellow Line, though they are still in control of more than half the territory.

Netanyahu and Katz described Saad as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

The Israeli army said Saad was the head of the weapons production headquarters of Hamas’s military wing who led the group’s “force build-up”.

Family sources confirmed his death to AFP, and said the funeral would be held on Sunday.

Israel’s military earlier on Saturday said two reserve soldiers were lightly injured “as a result of an explosive device that detonated during an operation to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza”.

The ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 has halted the fighting between Israel and Hamas, but it remains fragile with each side accusing the other of violating its terms.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza civil defence which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said five people were killed after “a civilian jeep-type vehicle was targeted near the Nabulsi roundabout in Tel al-Hawa”.

Bassal said the “charred” bodies were taken to Al-Shifa hospital after “Israeli warplanes targeted the civilian vehicle with three missiles, causing it to burn and its destruction”.

The hospital’s emergency department confirmed to AFP the arrival of the five bodies and said that more than 25 people were injured in the strike.

AFP footage showed a mangled car with vehicle parts scattered around next to other debris.

“Warplanes fired several missiles at the vehicle, setting it ablaze,” a witness, who did not wish to give his name for security reasons, said in the Tal al-Hawa area.

“Residents rushed to extinguish the fire, and charred body parts were scattered on the ground.”

Another witness, a 34-year-old man living in a tent in the Tel al-Hawa area, said he “saw several Hamas members arrive at the site of the attack”, without providing further details.

Civil defence agency spokesman Bassal also said a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy were killed by Israeli fire in two separate incidents in Gaza.