Israel’s military said it killed Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa, a founding member of Hamas’s military wing and one of the principal planners of the 7 October 2023 attacks, in an airstrike on the Sabra district of Gaza City late Friday. The Israel Defense Forces said the operation, conducted with the Israel Security Agency, targeted Al-Issa while he was acting as head of Hamas’s Combat Support Headquarters and working to rebuild the group’s damaged command structures. Al-Issa was described by the IDF as “one of the last remaining senior Hamas terrorists” inside the enclave and a key source of operational knowledge who oversaw training, force build-up, and the development of aerial and naval attack capabilities. Israeli officials hold him responsible for helping devise the October raid that killed roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel and resulted in about 250 hostages being taken to Gaza. The strike formed part of Israel’s continuing campaign against Hamas leadership. Within 24 hours of the announcement, the IDF said its air force hit more than 140 additional sites across Gaza—including rocket launchers, weapons depots and command centers—in support of ground forces. The military vowed to keep pursuing figures it says were involved in the October 7 assault while operations in the strip continue.