By Eniola Amadu
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, has been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, according to Israel.
Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, for what he described on X as a “flawless execution.”
The IDF had earlier said its aircraft struck “a key terrorist” in the al-Rimal neighbourhood on Saturday, sparking speculation that Obeida was the target.
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Hamas has not confirmed his death. The Palestinian group said dozens of civilians were killed and wounded in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in the same area.
Katz warned on Sunday that many more of Obeida’s “criminal partners” would be targeted as Israel pushes ahead with an intensified campaign to seize control of Gaza City.
The IDF and Shin Bet later issued a joint statement saying the operation was based on intelligence gathered by Shin Bet and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate, which pinpointed Obeida’s hiding place.
Five missiles reportedly hit the second and third floors of a six-storey apartment block that also housed a dentist’s clinic. Witnesses said large amounts of cash were seen flying through the air after the strike, some of it looted before being retrieved by Hamas.
The IDF described Obeida as “the public face of the Hamas terrorist organization” and accused him of spreading the group’s propaganda.
Believed to be about 40 years old, Obeida was one of the few surviving senior members of Hamas’s military wing from before the group’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
Always masked in a Palestinian scarf, he was a symbolic figure and a popular icon for Hamas supporters across the Middle East.
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Local journalists reported that at least seven people were killed and 20 injured in Saturday’s strikes, including children.
BBC-verified footage showed residents fleeing, injured civilians being carried to safety, and bloodied bodies under cloth coverings.
The IDF said precision weapons and aerial surveillance were used to minimise civilian harm, though scenes on the ground pointed to significant destruction in the crowded neighbourhood.
