ISRAEL has successfully taken out one of Hamas’s top commanders after an airstrike on Gaza City.
Raad Saad – who was “one of the architects” of the October 7 massacre – was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
This has placed further stress on the already strained ceasefire agreement in place between the two sides.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said Saad, a member of the Qassam Brigades, had been involved in efforts to “restore and manufacture the group’s weapons”.
Prior to his death, he served as chief of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing headquarters.
Saad was also thought to be second in command to the terror group’s latest military chief, Izz al-Din Haddad.
According to an Israeli official, Saad was taken out along with three others while driving on the Rashid coastal road.
He was believed to be one of the last senior military personnel still stationed in Gaza.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office revealed that it was Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz who ordered the attack.
This comes after an explosive device detonating in Gaza earlier on Saturday, injuring two Israeli soldiers.
In a statement, Israeli authorities said 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 cease-fire rules and Hamas’ commitment to respect President [Donald] Trump’s plan”.
Israel maintains that Hamas has been engaging in efforts to “restore its capabilities and strengthen itself” in recent weeks.
This is the latest incident inside Gaza since the signing of the US-brokered peace deal in October.
The IDF said the soldiers were injured while clearing an area of terrorist infrastructure in Southern Gaza.
It said “repeated attempts by the Hamas terror organization were identified, including the use of explosive devices against IDF forces, actions that constitute a blatant violation of the agreement”.
Israel reportedly did not inform the Trump Administration prior to carrying out the fatal attack .
Hamas has slammed Israel for “continuously” violating the ceasefire agreement.
“This crime confirms again that the occupation is deliberately seeking to undermine the ceasefire agreement and thwart it with continuously escalating violations,” the terror group said.
It added that Israel “bears the full responsibility for the results of its crimes against our Palestinian nation”.
Although the ceasefire has held so far, it is now set to enter a new stage – which includes the disarmament of Hamas.
This remains a huge sticking point between the two sides given Hamas’s reluctance to put down their weapons.
Despite this opposition, Trump has said that he plans to advance the peace deal forward within weeks.
Israel claims that three of its soldiers have been murdered since the peace accord came into effect two months ago.
Simultaneously, the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health claims nearly 400 of its citizens have been killed.
