After Israel’s announcement, Hamas confirms the death of military wing leader Raed Saad
Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Sunday the death of Raed Saad, a senior commander in the movement’s military wing, who was killed in an Israeli strike.
Hamas’s confirmation came one day after the Israeli army announced that it had killed Saad in an airstrike targeting a vehicle in Gaza City, describing him as one of the main architects of the October 7, 2023 attacks and one of Israel’s most wanted figures for years.
This operation is considered the most significant assassination of a high-ranking Hamas leader since the ceasefire agreement came into force last October, reflecting a qualitative escalation in Israeli targeting inside the Gaza Strip.
A precise strike and a political message
According to a joint statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the targeting of Raed Saad came “in response to an explosive device planted by Hamas that injured Israeli forces near the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip.”
The statement added that Saad “was deeply involved in rebuilding Hamas’s organizational structure, planning new attacks against Israel, and reconstituting the movement’s offensive capabilities.”
Video footage released by the Israeli army showed the execution of a highly precise strike targeting a vehicle believed to have been carrying Saad, in an operation described as intelligence-driven and based on accumulated information.
A central figure within the Qassam Brigades
In a detailed statement, the Israeli army said that Raed Saad was among “the few senior commanders who remained in the Gaza Strip” and that he held a series of key positions within Hamas’s military wing.
It explained that Saad founded and led the Gaza City Brigade, contributed to the establishment of the movement’s naval force, and was later appointed head of the operations department. In this role, he played a pivotal part in creating elite units within the Qassam Brigades and in shaping the attack plan against the Gaza Division, which formed the basis of the October 7 operations.
The statement noted that he later assumed leadership of the manufacturing department, where he was responsible for producing various types of military equipment for the armed wing, as well as for restoring Hamas’s production capabilities during the war. The Israeli army also held him responsible for the deaths of several of its soldiers as a result of explosive devices.
Raed Saad, known by the nom de guerre “Abu Muadh,” was one of the founding leaders of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He came from a family originally from the village of Hamama, north of Ashkelon, and had spent fifteen months in Israeli prisons.
Previous assassination attempts and an extensive security record
The killing of Raed Saad marks the fifth known attempt to eliminate him, following earlier attempts in 2008, 2021, and on March 18, 2024, as well as an Israeli announcement in June 2024 claiming his death before later retracting the statement after the operation failed.
In 2018, Israel described him as “one of the most dangerous wanted men.” The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Shin Bet had been tracking him since before the outbreak of the war, due to his detailed knowledge of the tunnel network, rocket systems, and Hamas’s secret sites.
The killing does not mean the end of Hamas
Before his death was officially confirmed, Israeli Channel 14 military analyst Tamir Morag stated that “eliminating Raed Saad, and even other leaders, does not mean the end of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
He added that the movement still possesses a significant leadership reserve and organizational depth, including tens of thousands of fighters, as well as large quantities of weapons and tunnels, arguing that “the dismantling of Hamas would only be possible through a large-scale military operation.”
