JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had conducted a strike targeting Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
Netanyahu stated during a government meeting that Israel had struck the spokesman for what he called a criminal and murderous organisation.
The Israeli prime minister expressed hope that Abu Obeida was no longer alive while noting Hamas had not clarified his status.
The spokesman had regularly appeared in militant videos wearing military fatigues and a red keffiyeh scarf to conceal his identity.
Israel has decimated Hamas’s senior leadership during nearly 23 months of devastating war in Gaza following the October 2023 attack.
Key Hamas figures killed include political chief Ismail Haniyeh, armed wing leader Mohammed Deif, and leader Yahya Sinwar, accused of masterminding the October attack.
Hamas confirmed on Sunday the death of Mohammed Sinwar, its presumed Gaza leader, more than three months after Israel announced killing him.
The October 2023 Hamas attack resulted in 1,219 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Forty-seven hostages remain in Gaza from the 251 originally seized, with approximately 20 believed still alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,459 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza health ministry figures deemed reliable by the United Nations. – AFP