Israel says it killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saed in Gaza

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: The Israeli military has claimed it killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saed, one of the alleged planners of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City on Saturday.

If confirmed, it would be the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since a ceasefire agreement in Gaza came into effect in October.

In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said Saed was targeted in response to an earlier Hamas attack in which an explosive device wounded two Israeli soldiers on Saturday.

According to Gaza health authorities, the Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City killed at least five people and injured 25 others. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or medical officials that Raed Saed was among those killed.

Hamas said the attack violated the ceasefire.

An Israeli military official described Saed as a senior Hamas leader who played a key role in establishing and expanding the group’s weapons production network.

The official said that in recent months Saed had been involved in rebuilding Hamas’ military capabilities and weapons manufacturing, calling it a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas sources have previously identified Saed as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing, after Izz el-Din al-Haddad. He also previously headed Hamas’ Gaza City battalion, considered one of the group’s largest and best-equipped units.

In a statement, Hamas condemned the Israeli strike, calling it a violation of the ceasefire agreement. However, the group did not confirm whether Saed was killed and stopped short of announcing any retaliation.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages during an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

The ceasefire agreed on October 10 has allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the devastated areas of Gaza City. Israeli forces have withdrawn from several urban positions, while humanitarian aid deliveries have increased.

Despite the truce, violence has not completely ceased. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli strikes have killed at least 386 people in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed during the same period and that it has carried out operations against dozens of fighters.