Israel’s military said on Saturday it killed Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa, a founding member of Hamas’s armed wing, in an airstrike on the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City the previous evening. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the strike was conducted jointly with the Israel Security Agency and described Al-Issa as “one of the last remaining senior Hamas terrorists” inside the enclave. According to the IDF, Al-Issa headed Hamas’s Combat Support Headquarters, led force-build-up and training programmes, and oversaw the group’s aerial and naval capabilities. He is accused of playing a central role in planning and executing the 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel, which left about 1,200 people dead and saw roughly 250 others taken hostage. The operation forms part of Israel’s continuing campaign to remove Hamas’s top command structure after nearly nine months of fighting. The military said it would “continue to locate and eliminate” those involved in the 7 October attack. Hamas had not issued a public response to the claim by late Saturday, and the report could not be independently verified.