Hamas confirms the death of a top commander in Gaza after Israeli strike
[December 15, 2025]
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of a
top commander in Gaza, a day after Israel said it had killed Raed Saad
in a strike outside Gaza City.
The Hamas statement described Saad as the commander of its military
manufacturing unit. Israel had described him as an architect of the Oct.
7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza, and asserted that he had
been “engaged in rebuilding the terrorist organization” in a violation
of the ceasefire that took effect two months ago.
Israel said it killed Saad after an explosive device detonated and
wounded two soldiers in the territory’s south.
Hamas also said it had named a new commander but did not give details,
adding that it had the right to “respond to the occupation’s
aggression.”
The strike on Saturday west of Gaza City killed four people, according
to an Associated Press journalist who saw their bodies arrive at Shifa
Hospital. Another three were wounded, according to Al-Awda hospital.
Hamas in its initial statement described the vehicle struck as a
civilian one.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations.
Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 391
Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold, according to Palestinian
health officials.
Israel has said recent strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks
against its soldiers, and that troops have fired on Palestinians who
approached the “Yellow Line” between the Israeli-controlled majority of
Gaza and the rest of the territory.
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Palestinians carry the body of a Hamas militant draped in the
group's flag, who was killed in an Israeli army strike, during his
funeral in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad
Alshrafi)
On Sunday, Israel’s military said it had killed a “terrorist” who
crossed the line and approached troops in northern Gaza.
Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of
the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza and called it a condition of
moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire.
That lays out a vision for ending Hamas’ rule and seeing the
rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision.
The initial Hamas-led 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around
1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their
remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,660
Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to
the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between
militants and civilians in its count. The ministry, which operates
under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals
and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the
international community.
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