Maariv: Who’s next after Israel killed Mohammed al Sinwar?
The Israeli Maariv newspaper reported that Israel has placed four senior Hamas figures on its assassination list following the official announcement of the martyrdom of the leader of Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip.
Maariv says, “After Israel officially confirmed on Saturday its success in eliminating Mohammed Sinwar and the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, Mohammed Shabana, by bombing a tunnel in the European Hospital complex in Khan Yunis, the Israeli Defense Forces, the General Security Service (Shin Bet), and the Mossad are now focusing on eliminating the four senior Hamas leaders who have survived so far”.
It was reported that the Israeli army’s primary target was the commander of Hamas’s “Gaza Brigade,” Ezzedine al Haddad.
The same source indicated that Ezzedine al Haddad was a target for assassination during the maneuver, but he survived.
In February of last year, he survived a bombing of a house in the Tel al Hawa area in the northern Gaza Strip after the air force attacked the building based on information provided by the General Security Service (Shin Bet).
This week, the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli army published leaflets in the Gaza Strip featuring a picture of Ezzedine al Haddad in front of an artillery target, with a caption in Arabic and Hebrew below the image stating that he would soon meet his friends Sinwar, al Daif, and Haniyeh.
The second target at the top of Israel’s assassination list is Osama Hamdan, the man leading the negotiations with Israel.
Hamdan was Hamas’s leader in Lebanon, but since the start of the war he has also served as the movement’s spokesman.
He is currently considered the most senior Hamas figure outside the country, spending most of his time in Qatar.
On Saturday, the IDF spokesperson issued a message in Arabic to the residents of Gaza.
Although the announcement was intended to create frustration among the people in Gaza against the Hamas leadership, it also contained messages regarding the extent of Israeli intelligence’s penetration of senior Hamas officials, whom Israel has described as sworn enemies.
The message read: “Where’re you, Hamas leadership? Sleeping? Where’re you, Osama Hamdan? Hungry? Of course, not… Where are you, Sami Abu Zuhri? You sleep on silk and say that everything destroyed in Gaza can be compensated for… Where are you, Khalil al Hayya? The leaders are truly living in peace”.
It’s worth mentioning that the Israeli army confirmed on Saturday that it killed Mohammed al Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, on May 13, confirming what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said days earlier.
Mohammed al Sinwar was the target of an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in southern Gaza earlier this month.
Netanyahu announced on Wednesday the death of Mohammed al Sinwar, the younger brother of Yahya al Sinwar, Hama’ late leader, who was killed by the Israeli army few months ago.
