Israel Kills Senior Hamas Commander

The IDF on Saturday afternoon killed senior Hamas commander Ra'ad Sa'ad, one of the most senior terrorists within the Al-Qassam Brigades, in a targeted strike, military intelligence sources confirmed.

The Israeli military, which did not name the target initially, said Sa'ad had recently been involved in attempts to restore and produce weapons for Hamas.

The IDF said the targeted terrorist had recently been involved in attempts to restore and produce weapons for Hamas.

Sources within the Military Intelligence Directorate said the IDF strike on Sa'ad came in response to an attack on IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip using an improvised explosive device. Two soldiers were lightly wounded in the attack and were transported to the hospital for medical treatment, the military confirmed.

Hamas did not mention Sa'ad in its response to the attack but claimed the IDF targeted a "civilian vehicle."

Ra'ad Sa'ad was operating from Gaza City's tunnels for months

According to Israeli estimates, Sa'ad had been operating for months within the vast tunnel system around Gaza City, in the northern Strip. Sources said he had left the tunnels in the past hour in a vehicle toward the eastern part of the city, where he was targeted in multiple strikes.
His security guards were most likely also harmed in the strike, sources noted.

Sa'ad is considered by Israeli security sources to be Hamas's second-most senior official within the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The IDF previously targeted him unsuccessfully in 2024. In June of last year, the IDF said that fighter jets had struck two Hamas military infrastructures in the Gaza City area.

In a joint statement released Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the killing of Sa'ad, stating he was one of the architects of the October 7 massacre, and had been engaged in rebuilding the terrorist organization's forces.

"Instead of working toward demilitarization, [Ra'ad] dealt in rearming for terror purposes."

IDF guns down terrorist after two cross Gaza's Yellow Line

Earlier in the weekend, the IDF said it killed one terrorist with forces scanning for another after the two crossed Gaza's Yellow Line.

The terrorists were approaching IDF soldiers in the area in a manner perceived to be a security threat, the military added.