Hamas Leader Muhammad Awda Killed

Israel killed Muhammad Awda, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in an air strike on Tuesday night. Palestinians held a funeral for him in Gaza City on Wednesday, a day after the attack.

The Israeli military said Awda was killed in a targeted strike. Just over a week earlier, Israel also killed his predecessor, Izz al-Din Haddad.

Awda’s family said his wife and son were also killed in the strike. Medical authorities in Gaza said the attack killed at least three other people and wounded more than 20. The strike hit the top floor of a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood. The information cannot be independently verified.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Awda headed Hamas’s intelligence division during the 7 October 2023 attack and had replaced the slain Haddad about a week earlier.

Sources close to Hamas said Awda was probably the last surviving member of the senior leadership of Hamas in Gaza. Israel says its post-ceasefire strikes are aimed at preventing attacks and weakening Hamas.

(reuters, lud)