Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida killed in Gaza, Israel says

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Getty Images Abu Obeida (pictured in 2019) often delivered long diatribes against Israel, always masked in a Palestinian scarf

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. Five missiles struck the second and third floor of the six-storey apartment building simultaneously from two different directions. The targeted flat had been used as a dentist’s surgery. Witnesses reported hundreds of thousands of dollars flying into the air because of the strike, with large sums stolen and later recovered by Hamas members. Obeida was among the few remaining senior members of Hamas’s military wing from before its deadly 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel. 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.

EPA Palestinians flee as smoke is seen billowing over Gaza City following an Israeli air strike on Saturday

Israel-Gaza conflict: Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida killed by IDF in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday confirmed that Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida was killed during Saturday’s strike, eliminating another top member of the group.

In an X post, IDF wrote confirming his death: “Abu Obeida can no longer spread his lies, propaganda and terror.”

Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz shared his reaction on X and said: “Hamas terror spokesman Abu Obeida was killed in Gaza and sent to meet all those thwarted in the axis of evil.”

Abu Obeida has appeared in several videos shared by Hamas over the months, where he was seen wearing military fatigues and a red keffiyeh scarf to obscure his face.

Hamas has not commented on his death so far.

Abu Obeida has been the spokesman of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades since 2004, reported The Times of Israel.

He rose to prominence later in 2006 after he announced the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

He has been the face of the Hamas group while it made major announcements.

His last video message was released nearly two weeks ago, where he attempted to pressure Israel to agree to a hostage-ceasefire deal accepted by the terror group.

Targeting Israel over the planned offensive to conquer Gaza city, he said in his last message as quoted by The Times of Israel: ” We will take care of the prisoners the best we can, and they will be with our fighters in the combat and confrontation zones, subjected to the same risks and the same living conditions.”

Israel declared on Sunday that notorious Hamas spokesman Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, alias Abu Obeida, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip a day earlier.

The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet initially said only that the Saturday strike had targeted a senior Hamas operative. Still, reports quickly identified the operative as the infamous terror group spokesman, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the identification at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The outcome of the strike was initially unclear. Unnamed Israeli security sources had expressed cautious optimism as to Abu Obeida’s fate until Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Sunday that the strike had been successful.

In a post on X, Katz wrote that the longtime spokesman “was sent to meet all the eliminated members of the axis of evil from Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen at the bottom of hell.”

“Soon, as the campaign over Gaza intensifies,” he promised, “he will meet many more of his partners in crime there — Hamas murderers and rapists.”

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Shortly after Katz’s remarks, the IDF issued a statement confirming that Abu Obeida, whom it called “the face of the terrorist organization,” had indeed been the target of Saturday’s strike.

“The operation was conducted jointly from the Shin Bet’s operations war room, in cooperation with the Southern Command, and was made possible thanks to prior intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, which pointed to the hideout where the terrorist was located,” the IDF statement said.

The military said that for the past decade, Abu Obeida “was responsible for the propaganda apparatus of Hamas’s military wing. In this role, he oversaw spokesperson operations across brigades and battalions, coordinated between political media elements and the military wing, and was the senior figure setting propaganda policy.”

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Hamas’s propaganda wing, said the IDF, “was responsible for distributing the atrocities of the October 7 massacre using footage captured by Hamas terrorists.”

Abu Obeida’s outfit also spread videos throughout the Arab world seeking to incite acts of terror and distributed videos of hostages in Gaza, the military added.

In separate remarks, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the hit on Abu Obeida was the latest in “a series of significant IDF strikes in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and other areas.”

“This is not the end,” he chief said at a situational assessment in the Northern Command, where the IDF said he reviewed intelligence and discussed operational plans for the continuation of the Gaza campaign.

“The bulk of Hamas’s ruling leadership that remains is abroad, and we will reach them too,” Zamir added, and reiterated that the IDF was “acting offensively, with initiative and operational superiority across all arenas and at all times.”

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu had said at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel had not yet been able to confirm if Abu Obeida had been killed.

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“The Shin Bet and the IDF struck the Hamas spokesman, the spokesman of the murderous evil organization, Abu Obeida,” he said.

“We still don’t know the final outcome — I hope he is no longer with us — but I notice there’s no one to speak about this from Hamas’s side,” the premier quipped. “So, the coming hours and days will tell.”

Abu Obeida had been the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, since 2004. He rose to prominence in 2006 when he announced the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

The always-masked Abu Obeida has since been the face of the terror group’s higher-profile statements and its psychological warfare.

Abu Obeida’s last statement was issued on Friday evening, warning Israel that its planned offensive to conquer Gaza City would subject hostages in the area to the “same risks” as the terror group’s fighters.

In light of the assassination of the Hamas spokesman, coupled with the strikes that killed the prime minister of the Houthi-led government, Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahwi, in Yemen last week, the cabinet was reported to have gathered for its weekly meeting in a secure alternative location out of fear of retaliatory attacks.

At the meeting, Netanyahu said that the IDF “has already begun implementing” a recent cabinet decision “to defeat Hamas and bring back all of our hostages.” Those goals have long been the stated aims of the war in Gaza, but Netanyahu seemed to be referencing the decision to move ahead with the conquest of Gaza City by the IDF.

Turning to last week’s strike on the Houthi political leadership, Netanyahu said that “in every one of his speeches, [Houthi leader Abdul-Malik] al-Houthi promises he will strike Israel, that he will destroy Israel. That’s written on their flag.”

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“That promise will not be fulfilled,” he promised. “But our promise — to strike the terror regime with increased force — is being fulfilled. And how is it being fulfilled. In a deadly blow, the IDF eliminated most of the Houthi government and additional military officials.”

He said that Israel will continue working to assassinate senior Houthi officials: “This is only the beginning of the campaign targeting senior officials in Sanaa. We will reach all of them.”

Netanyahu also boasted that the Western and Arab coalitions that have attacked the Houthis in the past were unable to achieve what Israel has, and said that ever since the 12-day war with Iran in June, Israel has been “striking the remaining parts of the axis systematically — day after day, front after front.”

Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has confirmed that Abu Obeida, the long-time spokesman of Hamas’ military wing, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City.

“Hamas terror spokesperson Abu Obeida was eliminated in Gaza,” Katz said on X on Sunday, one day after the military said it had targeted a senior member of the Palestinian extremist group.

While the military said it had taken steps to mitigate risks to civilians, Gaza’s civil defence agency, controlled by Hamas, reported at least seven deaths in an attack on a residential building on Gaza City’s Rimal district, once considered a wealthy area.

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Moments before Katz confirmed his death, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the fate of Abu Obeida was still unclear.

“We attacked the Hamas spokesman, the spokesman for an evil and murderous organization, Abu Obeida,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by his office.

“We still do not know the final result. While I hope that he is no longer with us, I note that there is no spokesperson to report on this from the Hamas side,” the prime minister said at the beginning of a government meeting.

Hamas has so far not officially confirmed his death, after the Israeli military announced the attack on Saturday.

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Hamas sources described the reports as psychological warfare, calling on Palestinians not to spread the rumours on Abu Obeida’s death.

Abu Obeida is the long-time spokesman of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. He is known for appearing masked in public and video messages.

Since the start of its campaign in Gaza, which has laid much of the sealed-off coastal territory to ruins, Israel has killed a number of high-ranking Hamas members, including Yahya Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind October 7.