Top Hamas commander, Raad Saad, killed in Gaza strike, says Israel

Israeli forces have confirmed the death of Raad Saad, a senior Hamas military figure responsible for overseeing weapons production, in a targeted strike in Gaza on Saturday (December 13). This strike also killed five others in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, located southwest of Gaza City. According to Palestinian medical sources and the civil defense agency in Gaza, the airstrike hit a civilian vehicle, causing it to catch fire and killing everyone inside.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, said that the strike was a response to an explosive device detonated by Hamas earlier, injuring Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip's "Yellow Zone." Saad, described by Israeli authorities as one of the masterminds behind the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, was reportedly in charge of Hamas's weapons development.

The Israeli army had earlier mentioned that two reserve soldiers were lightly wounded by an explosive device while clearing the Gaza area of Hamas infrastructure. However, it remains unclear whether the airstrike on Tel al-Hawa was linked to the operation targeting Saad.The ceasefire brokered by the United States between Israel and Hamas in early October has been fragile, with both sides accusing each other of violations. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to maintain control of a significant portion of Gaza, and the military has warned that tensions could escalate.

Meanwhile, the civil defense agency reported that two teenage boys, aged 17 and 18, were also killed by Israeli gunfire in separate incidents across Gaza. The bodies of the five individuals killed in the vehicle attack were transported to Al-Shifa Hospital, where more than 25 people were also treated for injuries. In the aftermath, residents witnessed the devastation in Tel al-Hawa, where multiple missiles were fired at the civilian vehicle, leaving charred wreckage and scattered body parts on the ground. Eyewitnesses described the chaotic scene, with local residents rushing to put out the flames before emergency responders arrived.