Israel claims to kill top Hamas leader Marwan Issa

Last Updated on March 27, 2024 3:47 am

Hamas deputy military commander Marwan Issa was killed in an Israeli strike earlier this month, an Israeli military spokesman said. However, there was no immediate comment from Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera reported this information in a report on Wednesday (March 27).

“We have verified all the intelligence,” Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement on Tuesday. Marwan Isa was killed in the attack we carried out about two weeks ago, he said.

The US announced last week that Isa had been killed in an Israeli strike, but Israel had not confirmed his death until yesterday.

The Israeli military previously said it targeted Issa during an airstrike on an underground compound in central Gaza on March 9-10. Issa was the deputy of Mohammed Deif, the longtime leader of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

The top leader of Hamas in Gaza and the alleged mastermind of the attack on Israel on October 7 is Yahya Sinwar. Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be alive and in Gaza, and Israel has vowed to kill them.

Israel says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters since the start of the war, but has provided no evidence to support its claim.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reported from occupied East Jerusalem that Israeli officials had been saying since the start of their offensive that they would “find and kill all Hamas leadership and every Hamas fighter in the field”.

Salhut said it will not only be in Gaza. It is going to be all over the world and also in countries like Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar.

If Israel’s claims of Marwan Issa’s death are correct, Issa would be the highest-ranking Hamas leader to be killed in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began in October last year. Israel, however, has killed several senior Hamas leaders over the years.

Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said every time Israel declared victory by killing a Hamas leader, dozens more came forward to take his place.