Hamas stated behind closed doors that Marwan Issa, deputy to Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who was targeted in an Israeli strike last week, has been killed, according to a Sunday Kan News report, citing Palestinian sources.
According to the sources, the number three in Hamas’s high command was killed in the IDF strike in Nusirat, in central Gaza, while he was hiding in one of Hamas’s terror tunnels.
Hamas number three still buried under terror tunnel
The sources further told Kan that his body was still buried underneath the rubble.
According to the report, Razi Abu Tomeh, Commander of a Hamas Brigade, was also killed in the strike.
Last week, the IDF announced it had targeted Issa during a strike on the Strip. However, the military could not confirm Issa had been killed, and Hamas remained silent on the subject.
The military confirmed, however, that no hostages had been in the vicinity of the attack.
According to a report published by the Guardian on Sunday, following the attack, Hamas’s communications went silent for 72 hours.
Intelligence expert Avi Melamed told the British newspaper that only “a human asset,” or rather an official in the terror group, could have confirmed “where and when Issa was hiding, [and] that he would remain there with time for the cabinet to approve” the operation and the IDF to launch it.
Israel “would have needed to confirm that no Israeli captives were being held near him as human shields,” he added.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video, “We are on our way to complete victory,” “We have already killed number four in the Hamas; three, two, and one are on the way.”
“We will reach everyone,” he concluded.
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