Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, has been killed in an air strike in Gaza Metropolis, Israel has stated.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) and Israel’s safety company, Shin Guess, for the “flawless execution” in a publish on X.
He gave no element on the time or location of the operation, however the IDF earlier stated its plane attacked “a key terrorist” within the al-Rimal neighbourhood on Saturday, prompting reviews in Israeli media that Obeida had been the goal.
Hamas has not confirmed his dying. The Palestinian armed group earlier stated dozens of civilians have been killed and injured in Israeli strikes on a residential constructing within the district.
Katz warned on Sunday that many extra of Obeida’s “legal companions” could be focused with “the intensification of the marketing campaign in Gaza” – a reference to a lately accepted Israeli plan to grab management of Gaza Metropolis.
Individually, the IDF and Shin Guess supplied extra particulars about Saturday’s strikes that focused the Hamas spokesman.
They stated in a joint assertion that the operation had been “made attainable because of prior intelligence gathered by [Shin Bet] and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate” that had recognized his hiding place.
Obeida was among the many few remaining senior members of Hamas’s navy wing from earlier than its lethal 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel.
5 missiles struck the second and third flooring of the six-storey condominium within the al-Rimal neighbourhood constructing concurrently from two totally different instructions.
The flat that was focused had been used as a dentist’s surgical procedure. Witnesses reported seeing a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} flying within the air after the strikes, with massive sums stolen by locals however later recovered by Hamas.
The joint assertion stated Obeida “served as the general public face of the Hamas terrorist group” and “disseminated Hamas’ propaganda”.
Over the previous few years, Obeida – believed to be about 40 years outdated – delivered quite a lot of lengthy diatribes in opposition to Israel on behalf of Hamas’s navy wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
At all times masked in a Palestinian scarf, he turned an idol to Hamas supporters all through the Center East.
In what might have been his remaining speech on Friday, Obeida stated the destiny of remaining Israeli hostages could be the identical as that of Hamas fighters, warning Israel in opposition to its deliberate invasion of Gaza Metropolis.
Palestinians fled as smoke billowed over Gaza Metropolis following an Israeli air strike on Saturday [EPA]
Native journalists reported that at the very least seven individuals had been killed and 20 injured within the strikes on the densely populated al-Rimal neighbourhood, with youngsters among the many casualties.
Mohammed Emad, who runs a barbershop simply 100m (328ft) from the location, instructed the BBC that “the blasts have been terrifying – I could not transfer for greater than an hour”.
He added: “I am unable to imagine I am nonetheless alive. I noticed injured youngsters with blood masking their faces, and folks have been working in each course as if the world had ended.”
Footage verified by the BBC of the aftermath of the strikes exhibits terrified residents fleeing into the streets.
Blood could be seen flowing from a physique coated by cloth, whereas an injured little one is carried away by a person.
The IDF stated that previous to the assault “many steps have been taken to scale back the prospect of harming civilians, together with the usage of precision weapons, aerial observations, and extra intelligence data”.
BBC Information has been unable to independently confirm the claims of both the IDF or Hamas.
In early August, Israel’s safety cupboard accepted a plan to grab management of Gaza Metropolis in a contemporary offensive, with the said goal of bringing the 22-month-long warfare to an finish.
The UN has repeatedly warned {that a} full navy takeover would danger “catastrophic penalties” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The UK’s ambassador to Israel has stated it could be “an enormous mistake”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat Hamas and defied worldwide criticism of his plans to broaden the warfare.
Israel’s navy operation in Gaza started in response to the Hamas-led 7 October assault, through which about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage. Since then, greater than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed, in line with the Hamas-run Gaza well being ministry.
Whereas the operation to seize Gaza Metropolis has but to start in earnest, Israeli assaults on the town – the place practically one million individuals dwell – have been ongoing.
One native resident instructed the BBC that the identical condominium constructing struck on Saturday had already been hit in an earlier Israeli air raid months in the past.
The Israeli navy has stated it plans to evacuate Gaza Metropolis’s complete inhabitants and transfer it to shelters within the south earlier than troops transfer in. Most of Gaza’s inhabitants has already been displaced many instances through the battle.
Greater than 90% of the town’s houses are estimated to be broken or destroyed, and the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene techniques have collapsed.
