The Israeli military said Sunday that it had killed Abu Obeida, the long-time spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, in an attack on Gaza City in what would be the latest in a string of Israeli assassinations of the Palestinian group’s key figures.
Neither Hamas nor its armed wing, which is known as the Qassam Brigades, has commented on the claim.
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Hamas has rarely acknowledged the deaths of its leaders in real time, often taking weeks or months to concede their demise.
The Israeli military’s announcement came as it prepared to take over Gaza City, defying international calls to reach an immediate deal to end the war and free hostages still held in the enclave.
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Plans for a Gaza City offensive, which would force hundreds of thousands of people to flee, have provoked international condemnation and set off protests in Israel over concerns the operation would put hostages at risk.
Abu Obeida had threatened in a statement carried in official Hamas news media on Friday that Israel would “pay the price” with “its soldiers’ blood” if it sought to conquer Gaza City.
The following day, Israeli forces launched an attack on the Gaza City neighbourhood of Rimal. The Israeli military said the attack targeted a key Hamas figure. Three Israeli officials, speaking anonymously, identified the target as Abu Obeida.
At least five people were killed in the Israeli attack, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, a Gaza rescue organisation.
A Hamas security official, who spoke anonymously as he feared reprisals for discussing the subject publicly, confirmed that Abu Obeida had been in the building that was struck, but did not say whether he was dead.
Although he never publicly showed his face and was not one of the most senior leaders of Hamas, Abu Obeida was one of the group’s best-known representatives in the Arab world and a key symbol.
In videos disseminated by Hamas, he appeared masked in a red-checkered keffiyeh, frequently defiant and threatening Israel with dire consequences.
Abu Obeida – which means “Obeida’s father” – was a nom de guerre. US and Israeli officials had named him Hudhayfa al-Kahlut, but his true identity was never confirmed by Hamas.
After the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli government vowed to destroy the armed group in Gaza. Roughly 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led assault, mostly civilians, and about 250 were taken hostage to Gaza.
In the nearly two years since, Israeli forces have killed many Hamas figures who they claim orchestrated the assault, including Yahya Sinwar, the group’s former leader; Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ politburo chief; and Muhammad Deif, the leader of its armed wing.
The Israeli military said Sunday that Abu Obeida and his aides had engaged in creating and spreading Hamas propaganda videos in which Israeli hostages held in Gaza were forced to give speeches to the camera. Human rights groups say the videos – produced under the most extreme duress – amount to a war crime.
Despite the killings of many of its commanders, Hamas has led a dogged insurgency and continued to recruit new fighters to its ranks, according to Israeli and US officials.
More than 60,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed in the Israeli campaign in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
And the enclave’s roughly two million people have endured more than 22 months of fear, hunger and bombardment. Many have been displaced multiple times in the face of the Israeli advance.
Severe hunger has gripped the enclave amid Israeli restrictions on aid. In August, a UN-backed panel of experts said Gaza City and the surrounding area were suffering from famine – a characterisation that Israel has disputed.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
