Hamas admitted that one of its senior officials, a military commander in the northern Gaza Strip, and three other of its cadres died during the Israeli offensive before the ceasefire began.
The armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas announced this Sunday, November 26, the death of the military commander of the North Gaza Brigade and three other leaders during the Israeli offensive on Palestinian territory.
Classified as a “terrorist” by the US
Ahmed al-Ghandour was a member of Hamas’ military council and has been designated a “terrorist” by US authorities since 2017. He was accused of being involved in a 2006 attack on the Israeli army at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in the far south of the Palestinian territory.
He had long been targeted by the Israeli army and had lost two of his children in attacks before the current offensive.
Among the other leaders named in the Al-Qassam Brigades press release, all of whom were killed before the start of the ceasefire that has been in place since Friday, is Ayman Siam, who is introduced as the leader of the rocket fire units. “We swear before God that we will continue their path and that their blood will be a light for the Mujahideen and a fire against the occupiers,” the text continues.
A rare communication
Hamas rarely communicates about its dead. However, in mid-October, he announced the death of Ayman Nofal, a commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, in an Israeli army attack on the Bureij refugee camp.
The Israeli army confirmed this, adding that Nofal “led numerous attacks against Israel,” “supervised the production of weapons,” and “was involved in organizing the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit,” a captured Israeli soldier, in 2006 and 2011 was released.
Last week, a senior Israeli military official spoke of the deaths of “more than 50” Hamas commanders since the Gaza operation began. AFP could not confirm the figure from independent sources.
The Army has eliminated “hundreds of terrorists and most of the battalion commanders,” he added, estimating that the damage inflicted on the enemy is reducing its ability to fight today and rebuild tomorrow. The Israeli official also refused to give an accurate estimate of the number of fighters killed. “Not 10,000, not 1,000, somewhere in between.”
A ceasefire in progress
According to Israeli authorities, the October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, the vast majority civilians, representing unprecedented violence in the country’s history. According to the Hamas government, nearly 15,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli strikes.
The fighting stopped with the entry into force of this at least four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came about thanks to the mediation of Qatar and in particular the United States.
The end of the fighting is expected to allow the release of 50 Israeli hostages captured on October 7, compared to three times as many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. So far, 26 Israelis and 15 foreigners have been released, compared to 78 Palestinian prisoners.