Who is Raed Saad, the Hamas commander Israel claims it killed in Gaza?

The Israeli military said it had targeted a senior Hamas commander, but did not initially name him or give further details.

An Israeli defence official later said Saad had been the target of the attack and described him as the head of Hamas’s weapons production force. Hamas sources have said Saad was also the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, after Izz eldeen Al-Hadad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Defence Minister Israel Katz had ordered the attack, following an explosion earlier in Gaza that injured Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu’s office did not directly confirm Saad’s death, but Israeli media reported that he had been killed.

The Israeli army later said the strike was carried out in cooperation with the Shin Bet intelligence agency and targeted Hamas production facilities in Gaza.

Who is Raed Saad

A senior leader of Hamas, Saad is a member of the military council of the Qassam Brigades, the Palestinian group’s armed wing, according to a factsheet from the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Israel said Saad headed the group’s operations and weapons production departments and was one of the last senior Hamas figures still operating inside the Gaza Strip.

In the statement earlier from Netanyahu’s office , the Israeli prime minister accused Saad of being “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, in which Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Hamas sources said Saad previously commanded Hamas’s Gaza City battalion, one of the group’s largest units.

The Gaza war began after the October 7 attack. Israel’s military response has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials.

The ceasefire, which began on October 10, has allowed many displaced Palestinians to return to Gaza City, while Israeli forces have withdrawn from some positions and aid deliveries have increased.

However, Gaza health authorities said at least 386 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce began. Israel said three of its soldiers have been killed during the same period.

(With inputs from Reuters)