Israel said on Saturday that it had killed a senior Hamas military commander in an airstrike in Gaza, in what it described as the most serious action against the group’s leadership since a ceasefire began.
According to Israeli officials, the strike targeted a car in Gaza and killed Raed Saed, whom Israel identified as a senior commander within Hamas. Israel said Saed was among the main planners of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israeli authorities said the operation was the largest targeted strike against a senior Hamas figure since the ceasefire came into force. Hamas has not yet responded publicly to the claim, international news agency Reuters reported.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the strike was carried out after a Hamas attack wounded two Israeli soldiers. He said the airstrike resulted in the death of a senior Hamas commander.
Gaza health officials said the attack killed at least five people and injured at least 25 others. However, neither Hamas nor medical officials have confirmed whether Saed was among those killed.
Israeli military officials said Saed was a senior member of Hamas who played an important role in building and expanding the group’s weapons production network. Israel accused him of continuing efforts to restore Hamas’s military strength and weapons manufacturing capabilities even after the ceasefire began.
Sources close to Hamas said Saed served as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing and had previously led the Gaza City Battalion. The unit is considered one of Hamas’s largest and best-equipped formations.
Hamas condemned the airstrike as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but did not say whether Saed was injured or killed. The group also did not issue an immediate threat of retaliation.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, who say most of those killed were civilians.
After the ceasefire took effect on October 10, millions of displaced Palestinians began returning to the ruins of Gaza City. Israel has withdrawn troops from some areas and increased the flow of humanitarian aid. However, the violence has not fully ended.
Gaza health officials said at least 386 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began. Israel said three of its soldiers have been killed during the same period and that dozens of militants have been targeted.
