Israel’s military “eliminated” a founding Hamas military leader and mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack, Tel Aviv officials said Saturday.
Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was killed during a targeted airstrike on the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, Israel Defense Forces said.
Al-Issa was one of the final remaining founding members of the terrorist organization’s military wing and played a crucial role in the Oct. 7 attack that launched the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Issa led Hamas’ force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre. As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis,” said an IDF post on X.
“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 Oct. 7, including as the Head of the Training Headquarters.
He was pivotal to rebuilding Hamas’ organizational systems that were damaged over the last several months.
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 the 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.
Here’s the latest on the Israel-Hamas war
Issa’s death comes just days after the IDF claimed to have killed the leader of a brutal Palestinian jihadist group responsible for the kidnappings and cold-blooded murders of Hamas hostages captured on Oct. 7.
Asaad Abu Sharia, head of the Mujahideen Brigades, was taken out in a joint operation in Gaza City on Saturday by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.
Also, last month, the IDF killed Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar during an airstrike on a Gaza hospital.
Sinwar was hiding in tunnels beneath the building — and dramatic footage captured the moment IDF soldiers ripped his body from the rubble.
