Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida killed in Gaza, says Israel
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, has been killed in an air strike in Gaza City, Israel has said.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, for the “flawless execution” in a post on X.
He gave no detail on the time or location of the operation, but the IDF earlier said its aircraft attacked “a key terrorist” in the al-Rimal neighbourhood on Saturday, prompting reports in Israeli media that Obeida had been the target.
Hamas has not confirmed his death. The Palestinian armed group earlier said dozens of civilians were killed and injured in Israeli strikes on a residential building in the district.
Katz warned on Sunday that many more of Obeida’s “criminal partners” would be targeted with “the intensification of the campaign in Gaza” , a reference to a recently approved Israeli plan to seize control of Gaza City.
Separately, the IDF and Shin Bet offered more details about Saturday’s strikes that targeted the Hamas spokesman.
They said in a joint statement that the operation had been “made possible due to prior intelligence gathered by Shin Bet and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate” that had identified his hiding place.
Obeida was among the few remaining senior members of Hamas’s military wing from before its deadly 7 October 2023 attack on Southern Israel.
Five missiles struck the second and third floor of the six-storey apartment in the al-Rimal neighbourhood building simultaneously from two different directions.
The flat that was targeted had been used as a dentist’s surgery. Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars flying in the air after the strikes, with large sums stolen by locals but later recovered by Hamas.
The joint statement said Obeida “served as the public face of the Hamas terrorist organization” and “disseminated Hamas’ propaganda”.
Over the past few years, Obeida believed to be about 40 years old delivered a number of long diatribes against Israel on behalf of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Always masked in a Palestinian scarf, he became an idol to Hamas supporters throughout the Middle East.
In what may have been his final speech on Friday, Obeida said the fate of remaining Israeli hostages would be the same as that of Hamas fighters, warning Israel against its planned invasion of Gaza City.
