Ahmed Abd al Rahman Shambari: IDF claims it killed Hamas's intelligence chief in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces on Wednesday (April 29) said that Iyad Ahmed Abd al Rahman Shambari, a senior figure within the military intelligence wing of Hamas, has been killed in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, Shambari headed the operations department in Hamas’s military intelligence and played a central role in planning the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. That assault triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which escalated after Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza.

While a ceasefire announced on October 10 has largely halted large-scale fighting, violence has continued across the enclave. The Gaza health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, has reported that at least 818 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began. The United Nations has previously treated such figures as broadly reliable.

Separately, Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP that four people were killed and six others injured after a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the western Al Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City. A Gaza security official identified two of the victims as Hamas commander Iyad al Shanbari and his son Salah, though the identities of the other two were not disclosed.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of the identities of those killed in the strike. The IDF has not commented on the specific incident cited by local authorities.