Head of Hamas’s government in Gaza among 3 killed in airstrikes, claims Israel

The Israel Defence Forces on Thursday claimed the killing of three senior leaders of Palestinian terror outfit Hamas, including their Gaza government head Rawhi Mushtaha.

Sharing the details of the operation, the IDF said that a strike on an underground compound in northern Gaza killed Rawhi Mushtaha and two other Hamas commanders, Sameh Siraj and Sameh Oudeh. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The Israeli military said the three commanders had taken refuge in a heavily guarded underground compound in northern Gaza that also served as their command and control centre.

“Approximately 3 months ago, in a joint IDF and ISA strike in Gaza, the following terrorists were eliminated: Rawhi Mushtaha, the Head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas’ political bureau and Hamas’ Labor Committee, Sami Oudeh, Commander of Hamas’ General Security Mechanism. IAF fighter jets struck and eliminated the terrorists while they were hiding in a fortified and equipped underground compound in northern Gaza,” the IDF said in a post on X.

“The compound served as a Hamas command and control centre and enabled senior operatives to remain inside of it for extended periods of time. The IDF will continue to pursue all of the terrorists responsible for the October 7 massacre and will operate against anyone who threatens the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement,” it added.

Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, a top leader of Hamas who helped mastermind the October 7 attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people and triggered a war in the Middle East.

Last week in a “precision strike” in Lebanon’s Beirut, Israel also killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, giving a major blow to the Iran-backed terror group.

The Middle East has been witnessing a tumultuous security situation for nearly one year after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking hostage over 200 others. The attack triggered the war in Gaza, which has killed over 41,000 people.