Israel announced on Sunday that it had killed Abu Obeida, the military spokesman of the Al-Qassam Brigades, in an airstrike carried out Saturday on Gaza City.
The announcement came in a joint statement by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. As of this report, Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
According to the Israeli statement, the operation was based on prior intelligence and confirmed that “Hodeifa al-Kahlout (Abu Obeida) was eliminated.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said that the army had targeted Abu Obeida and that “they were waiting for the results.”
Abu Obeida, also known as “the masked man,” was one of the most prominent media figures of the Palestinian resistance. He first appeared publicly in 2006 when announcing the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Israeli sources had previously reported that two earlier attempts to assassinate him had failed since the start of the Gaza war.
