The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday said it killed one of Hamas’s top commanders in Gaza, the highest-profile assassination amid Israel and the designated terrorist organization’s fragile ceasefire.
Raed Saad oversaw weapons production for Hamas’s military wing, the IDF said in a statement posted on the social platform X. They added that he was “one of the Architects of the Brutal October 7th Massacre.”
“He held several senior positions and was a central figure within the organization’s military leadership,” the IDF continued. “He was responsible for the deaths of many soldiers through explosive devices manufactured by Hamas’ weapons production units during the war.”
Saad also oversaw the productions of weapons inside Gaza during the ceasefire, the statement reads.
“His elimination significantly degrades Hamas’ ability to reestablish its capabilities,” the IDF’s statement concluded.
Hamas did not confirm Saad’s death but reported that an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle west of Gaza City killed four people and injured three others, according to The Associated Press. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the strike that killed Saad, Netanyahu’s office stated on X. The prime minister’s office added that Saad was “engaged in rehabilitating the terrorist organization and in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel and rebuilding an attack force in blatant violation of the ceasefire rules and Hamas’s commitments to adhere to President Trump’s plan.”
“Instead of promoting demilitarization, he was engaged in rearming for acts of terrorism,” Netanyahu’s office added.
The attack comes ahead of the expected second phase of Trump’s peace plan between Hamas and Israel in early 2026. Trump and Netanyahu are expected to meet to talk about the next phase of the plan on Dec. 29.
Last week, Netanyahu told reporters that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase” after Hamas returns the remains of its last hostage held in Gaza. Netanyahu said that the next phase, which requires Hamas to disarm its militants, could start before the end of December, “something that also people believed was impossible.”
“But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States,” Netanyahu said. “It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled.”
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s decision-making political bureau, told the AP last Sunday that Hamas is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its weapons. Naim later told AI-Monitor on Monday that Hamas could either surrender its weapons to a future Palestinian state or that its militants will disarm after a truce that lasts five to 10 years, with Israel’s guarantee to not continue the war.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the shaky ceasefire. Israel has shifted its yellow-line boundary that split Gaza in half, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said Wednesday. These shifts have caused some confusion and clashes that have killed 360 Palestinians and left 922 injured.
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