Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Israeli security services have received final confirmation of the assassination of Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, according to a report by Channel 14 in Israel.
The development follows a targeted airstrike carried out by the Israeli military in Gaza, which officials say was aimed at eliminating a senior Hamas figure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the strike during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, stating that the Israeli military had targeted “the spokesman of evil”—a direct reference to Abu Ubaida.
He noted at the time that confirmation of the operation’s outcome was still pending. “Hamas is delaying their response, possibly because there is no one left to issue a statement,” Netanyahu remarked.
On Saturday evening, the Israeli military had already indicated that a significant Hamas figure had been targeted in a precise airstrike in northern Gaza. Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that a central figure in Hamas was attacked via airstrike in Gaza City. While the army did not officially name the target, multiple Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12, reported that the operation focused on Abu Ubaida.
Channel 12 also revealed that intelligence on Abu Ubaida’s location was obtained the previous night, and the strike was executed at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time. According to one senior Israeli official cited by the outlet, “If Abu Ubaida was indeed inside the targeted building, there is no realistic chance he survived.”
The reports were soon echoed by Palestinian sources. On Sunday morning, a Palestinian official confirmed to the Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath news channels that Abu Ubaida had been killed. The source claimed that the Israeli strike hit an apartment where the Hamas spokesperson was present and that all individuals inside the apartment were killed.
Further corroboration reportedly came from members of Abu Ubaida’s family and leaders within the Qassam Brigades who had identified the body.
While Hamas has yet to release an official statement, the broad consensus among both Israeli intelligence and Palestinian sources suggests that the long-standing spokesperson, known for his symbolic presence and masked appearances in media communications, was killed in the airstrike.
The confirmed death of Abu Ubaida would mark a significant blow to Hamas, both operationally and symbolically, amid the ongoing conflict. His identity had long remained shrouded in secrecy, and he was considered a key figure in shaping the group’s public messaging and propaganda efforts during times of war and tension.
