Israel has claimed that it killed a senior Hamas commander, Raed Saad, in an airstrike carried out in Gaza City, though Hamas has not confirmed the death.
According to a report by Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera on Sunday, December 14, Israeli forces said the attack targeted Saad, whom they described as a key figure in rebuilding Hamas’s military capabilities.
Gaza’s health authorities reported that the strike, which took place on Saturday, December 13, killed at least five people and injured 25 others.
In a statement, Hamas said a civilian vehicle was struck outside Gaza City and described the attack as a violation of the fragile ceasefire that came into effect in October. However, the group did not confirm whether Raed Saad was among the dead.
Posting on Telegram, the Israeli military alleged that Saad was working to restore Hamas’s operational strength, which it claimed had been severely weakened by more than two years of Israeli military operations in Gaza. Israel also identified him as one of the main architects of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
If confirmed, Saad’s death would mark the highest-ranking Hamas leader killed since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October this year.
An Israeli defense official told Reuters that Saad was the intended target of the strike and identified him as the head of Hamas’s weapons production apparatus.
Hamas-linked sources have described Raed Saad as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing after Izz al-Din al-Haddad. They also said he led Hamas’s Gaza City Battalion, one of the organization’s largest and most heavily armed units.
