Israeli Defense Forces announced that they launched an airstrike on Saturday (December 13th) targeting a car in Gaza City, killing Hamas senior commander Raed Saed. However, Hamas has not confirmed Saed’s condition. Saed was one of the key planners behind Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz stated in a joint statement that on Saturday morning, Hamas launched an attack in southern Gaza, resulting in two Israeli soldiers being injured. In response, the Israeli military carried out the operation to eliminate Saed.
According to Palestinian media reports, the target of the attack was a car traveling along the coastal road of Rashid in the Hamas-controlled area along the Gaza ceasefire line. The attack resulted in four deaths and over 20 injuries. Hamas condemned the attack in a statement, stating it violated the ceasefire agreement, but did not specify if Saed was injured or killed.
Saed was the head of weapons manufacturing for Hamas. He was one of the few remaining senior military commanders of Hamas in Gaza. According to the Israeli Times, Saed’s position was only second to the organization’s newly appointed military chief Izz al-Din Haddad.
A Hamas source also mentioned that Saed was the second-in-command after Haddad within the armed organization. The source stated that Saed had led Hamas’s largest and best-equipped unit in Gaza City.
An Israeli military official mentioned that Saed was a senior member of Hamas who had helped the organization establish and expand its weapons production network.
“In recent months, he (Saed) has been working to rebuild Hamas’ capability and weapons manufacturing, which blatantly violated the ceasefire agreement,” said the official.
The Israeli military released a video of the airstrike on the target car.
Since the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect in October this year, this is the highest-level assassination operation Israel has conducted against senior Hamas figures.
The Israeli Defense Forces stated, “Saed has been a key leader in Hamas’ military department over the past few months, directly responsible for Hamas terrorist organization violations of the ceasefire agreement. Additionally, he led activities to continue weapons production in Gaza during the ceasefire.”
This airstrike was based on the latest intelligence obtained by the Israeli intelligence agencies, with Saed being a long-standing target for elimination by Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces reiterated that Saed was a significant threat to Israel’s security and stability, and his elimination aimed to disrupt Hamas’ terrorist activities in the region.