Hamas leader and October 7 mastermind Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa killed in IDF airstrike
Israel's military 'eliminated' a founding Hamas military leader and mastermind behind the October 7 attack, Tel Aviv officials said on Saturday.
Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was killed during a targeted airstrike on the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Al-Issa was one of the final remaining founding members of the terrorist organisation's military wing and played a crucial role in the October 7, 2023 attack that launched the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
'Issa led Hamas' force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre,' the IDF said in a post on X.
'As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis.
'The IDF & (Israel Security Agency) will continue to locate and eliminate all terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre.'
Al-Issa was a 'key source of knowledge' for Hamas and held a litany of high-ranking positions within the group prior to October 7, including as the Head of the Training Headquarters.
He was pivotal to rebuilding Hamas' organisational systems that were damaged over the last several months.
Al-Issa was also a co-founder of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades' military academy, where he trained thousands of terrorists and influenced the structure of Hamas' military wing, the Jerusalem Post reported.
He arrived in Gaza in 2005 from Syria, and was reportedly with his wife and grandson during the strike.
Al-Issa's death comes just days after the IDF claimed to have killed the leader of Mujahideen Brigades, the Palestinian jihadist group responsible for the kidnappings and murders of Hamas' hostages captured on October 7.
Asaad Abu Sharia was taken out in a joint operation in Gaza City last Saturday by the IDF and the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency.
Last month, the IDF also killed Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar during an airstrike on a Gaza hospital.
Sinwar was hiding in tunnels beneath the building, with dramatic footage capturing the moment IDF soldiers ripped his body from the rubble.
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