Marwan Issa: Israel checks whether Hamas No.2 killed in Gaza strike

Israel was checking on Monday whether Hamas’s deputy military leader Marwan Issa died in an air strike in Gaza, media said, as prospects faded of talks securing a ceasefire to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

If his death is confirmed, Marwan Issa would be the highest-ranking official from Hamas killed by Israel in five months of war that have pulverised the enclave and killed thousands of Palestinians.

Israeli Army Radio said the Al-Nusseirat camp in central Gaza had been bombed on Saturday night following intelligence about the location of Issa, second-in-command of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

The attack killed five people, the report said.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel was checking whether the fatalities included Marwan Issa.

A Palestinian source said the Israelis had hit a place where they thought Issa was hiding, but could give no details of his fate. Neither the Israeli military nor Hamas officials immediately commented on the media reports.

On Sunday, in a statement rounding up operations from the previous 24 hours, Israel said its forces had killed militants in central Gaza but did not mention the camp.

Marwan Issa, nicknamed the ‘Shadow Man’ for his ability to stay off Israel’s radar screens, was one of three top Hamas leaders who planned the Oct. 7 attack and are believed to have been directing Hamas’ military operations since then.

He was on Israel’s “most wanted” list, together with Mohammed Deif, commander of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar.

More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war and nearly 73,000 injured, according to Gaza authorities, while infrastructure has been obliterated and hundreds of thousands are close to famine.

POSITIONS ON CEASEFIRE REMAIN FAR APART

Marwan Issa’s death, if confirmed, could also complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages, although Israel says talks are continuing through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Hamas blames Israel for refusing to give guarantees to end the war and withdraw troops.

Negotiators had wanted a halt in hostilities for Ramadan, which began on Monday, and traditionally heralds a rise in tension in the occupied Palestinian territories.

But in the early hours, an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed 16 people and wounded several others, Palestinian health officials said.

The strike, around dawn in Zeitoun, one of Gaza City’s oldest neighbourhoods, hit the house of the Abu Shammala family, killing those inside, according to medics. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

In central Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces had killed around 15 militants in close combat and air strikes. Commandos in Khan Younis, where much of Israel’s military operation has been focused in recent weeks, targeted sites believed to be used by Hamas militants, the military said.