Eurasia Press & News
3 others said killed in airstrike on terror group’s No. 2; Netanyahu, Katz say assassination a response to IED that lightly hurt 2 reservists in Strip’s south
Top Hamas commander Raad Saad was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said, in an escalatory move that Israel claimed was a response to violations of a ceasefire by the terror group.
Saad, head of Hamas’s weapons manufacturing headquarters and one of the architects of the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, was one of the few remaining members of Hamas’s top military brass in the Gaza Strip and was considered only second to the terror group’s latest military chief, Izz al-Din Haddad. Sunday marks 800 days since the Hamas attack.
The strike hit a vehicle traveling along the coastal Rashid Road, on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line, according to Palestinian media, which reported four people killed and over 20 injured.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement, said that Saad was killed in response to the injury of two troops by an explosive in southern Gaza several hours prior.
In its own statement, the IDF said that in recent weeks, “repeated attempts by the Hamas terror organization to carry out terrorist attacks were identified, including the use of explosive devices against IDF troops, actions that constitute a blatant violation of the agreement, as occurred this morning.”
“In parallel, the IDF identified attempts by the organization to restore and build up its capabilities,” the military said, adding that Saad “led Hamas’s force buildup, and his elimination constitutes a significant blow to the organization’s ability to rearm.”
The military published footage of the strike. A military source said that “Saad had long been a target for elimination,” and that the strike was carried out following fresh information obtained by the Intelligence Directorate on Saad’s whereabouts.
A defense official was cited by Channel 13 news as saying that Hadadd, the Hamas military chief, “is also in the crosshairs.”
“When there is an opportunity, he will be eliminated, even during the ceasefire,” the official said.
Israel did not give the US advanced notice before Saturday’s airstrike, according to the Axios news site.
“Saad was a leading figure in the leadership of Hamas’s military wing in recent months and was directly responsible for violations of the ceasefire agreement by the Hamas terror organization. In addition, in his role, he led the continued production of weapons in the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire,” the IDF said in its statement.
The military said Saad held several senior roles in the terror group and was considered close to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, assassinated in 2004; military chief Mohammed Deif, killed in July 2024; and deputy head of the military wing Marwan Issa, until his assassination in March 2024.
Saad established Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade, commanded it, and was involved in forming the terror group’s naval force, according to the military. He was later appointed as chief of the terror group’s operations headquarters.
During the latter role, Saad was one of the architects of the terror group’s plan to invade Israel and defeat the IDF’s Gaza Division — codenamed “Jericho’s Walls” in the army — which was ultimately activated on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
The IDF said Saad “participated in the shaping and construction” of the Jericho’s Walls plan, “upon which Hamas’s plans for the October 7 massacre were based.”
In addition, as operations chief, Saad helped establish the terror group’s elite Nukhba Force, which spearheaded the invasion of Israel on October 7, the army said.
After writing up the invasion plans, Saad in 2021 was dismissed from his role as operations chief by then-Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, over apparent personal disagreements between them.
Saad moved to other roles in the military wing, and more recently, served as chief of Hamas’s weapons manufacturing headquarters and a deputy to Hadadd.
The IDF said that Saad was responsible for “the production of all types of weapons for Hamas’s military wing ahead of the October 7 massacre, and later also for the rehabilitation of Hamas’s weapons production capabilities during the war.”
“Saad is responsible for the deaths of many soldiers who were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of explosive devices manufactured by the weapons production headquarters during the war,” the military added.
Netanyahu and Katz said in their joint statement that Saad “was one of the architects of the October 7 massacre and in recent days had been engaged in restoring the terror organization and in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, as well as rebuilding an attack force, in blatant violation of the ceasefire rules and Hamas’s commitments to respect President [Donald] Trump’s plan.”
“Instead of advancing disarmament, he was engaged in rearmament for acts of terror,” they said.
Netanyahu and Katz add that “anyone who raises a hand against Israel and harms IDF soldiers, his hand will be cut off in Gaza and anywhere else.”
Saad survived several Israeli assassination attempts, the latest of which was carried out in June 2024. He was believed to be at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital when Israel raided the medical center in March that year, though he apparently managed to flee at the time.
In 1990, Saad was jailed by Israel over his involvement in Hamas. In the late 1990s, he was jailed by the Palestinian Authority.
In a statement after the strike, without mentioning Saad, Hamas said: “This crime confirms again that the occupation is deliberately seeking to undermine the ceasefire agreement and thwart it with continuously escalating violations.”
Israel “bears the full responsibility for the results of its crimes against our Palestinian nation,” the terrorist group added. It also demanded that “mediators and countries that are guarantors of the agreement assume their responsibility surrounding these blatant violations and move urgently to restrain” Israel.
IDF: Two reservists lightly hurt by explosive in southern Gaza
Earlier Saturday, two reserve soldiers were lightly wounded by an explosive device in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said.
According to the IDF, the bomb exploded while soldiers were working to clear the area of terror infrastructure. They were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the army said.
Meanwhile, the IDF said it killed a Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s north.
According to the military, the operative crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”
The Israeli Air Force then struck and “eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat,” the IDF added. Palestinian media had reported that one person, Mohammed Sabri Al-Adham, 19, was killed by Israeli fire in the Jabalia area.
Additionally, the IDF said that it killed another terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s south a day earlier.
In a statement, the IDF said that on Friday, two operatives were identified crossing the Yellow Line and approaching troops of the 7th Armored Brigade “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”
“The troops eliminated one terrorist to remove the threat,” the army said.
Hamas says more than 70,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 476. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
