Israel Assassinates Ra’ad Sa’ad, Senior Hamas Military Leader Behind Oct. 7 Attack
By The Media Line Staff
Israeli forces on Saturday killed Ra’ad Sa’ad, a senior Hamas commander described by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency as one of the last remaining figures from the group’s original military leadership in the Gaza Strip.
According to a joint IDF-Shin Bet statement, Sa’ad had emerged in recent months as a central leader within Hamas’s military wing and was directly involved in repeated breaches of the ceasefire. Israeli officials said he continued planning attacks and rebuilding Hamas’s operational capabilities despite the agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they ordered the strike after a Hamas explosive device wounded two IDF reserve soldiers earlier Saturday during operations in southern Gaza. The two said Sa’ad was actively directing attacks and rearmament efforts rather than moving toward demilitarization.
“Instead of advancing demilitarization, he was working to rearm for acts of terror. Anyone who raises a hand against Israel and harms IDF soldiers-his hand will be cut off in Gaza and anywhere else,” Netanyahu and Katz said in a statement.
The IDF said Sa’ad played a key role in planning the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel and later oversaw efforts to restore weapons production during the war. He previously commanded Hamas’s Gaza Brigade and later headed its operations apparatus, where he helped establish the Nukhba units and contributed to the “Jericho Wall” plan used in the Oct. 7 attack.
Sa’ad later led Hamas’s weapons production division and was responsible for manufacturing arms before the Oct. 7 massacre and rehabilitating those capabilities afterward, the military said. His death, the IDF added, “significantly degrades Hamas’s ability to reestablish its capabilities.”
Before the war, Israeli intelligence ranked Sa’ad fourth in Hamas’s military hierarchy, behind Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Yahya Sinwar. After all three were killed, Israeli officials assessed that Sa’ad had risen to become the second-most senior commander in the group’s military wing.
The strike was carried out after Israeli intelligence identified Sa’ad making a rare above-ground movement in western Gaza City. A drone fired multiple missiles at a moving vehicle, killing Sa’ad and others inside, according to Israeli media reports. An additional strike was carried out to ensure no survivors.
Separately, the IDF said the two reserve soldiers wounded earlier Saturday suffered light injuries and were evacuated for medical treatment.
Israeli officials said Hamas’ continued rearmament violates the ceasefire framework and complicates efforts to move toward a second phase involving international oversight and reduced Hamas control in Gaza.
X link: https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1999876225867579734
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