The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has eliminated a founding Hamas military leader and mastermind of the October 7 attack, Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa.
IDF says Al-Issa was killed during a targeted airstrike on the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.
According to the IDF, Al-Issa was one of the final remaining founding members of the terrorist organization’s military wing and played a crucial role (planning) in the October 7 attack that launched the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
IDF posted on X, “Issa led Hamas’ force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre. As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis”.
“The IDF & [Israel Security Agency] will continue to locate and eliminate all terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre.”
Al-Issa was a “key source of knowledge” for Hamas and held a litany of high-ranking positions within the group prior to October 7, including as the Head of the Training Headquarters.
He was pivotal to rebuilding Hamas’ organizational systems that were damaged over the last several months.
The Jerusalem Post reported that “Issa was also a co-founder of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades’ military academy, where he trained thousands of terrorists and influenced the structure of the military wing.
“He arrived in Gaza in 2005 from Syria, and was reportedly with his wife and grandson during the strike.”
Issa’s death comes just days after the IDF claimed to have “killed the leader of a brutal Palestinian jihadist group responsible for the kidnappings and cold-blooded murders of Hamas hostages captured on October 7”.
Also, last month, the IDF killed Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar during an airstrike on a Gaza hospital.
Sinwar was hiding in tunnels beneath the building, and dramatic footage captured the moment IDF soldiers ripped his body from the rubble.
