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The Israeli army announced on Tuesday evening that it had managed to assassinate Marwan Issa, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in a raid on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

Hamas has not yet issued any announcement confirming or denying the martyrdom of Marwan Issa, nor has Israel provided concrete evidence of his assassination.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari spoke, in a press conference in Tel Aviv, about intelligence information confirming the “liquidation” of Issa, whom Israel describes as the third man in Hamas after its head in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and the leader of its military wing, Muhammad al-Deif.

Hagari said that Issa was killed along with his assistant, Ghazi Abu Toma, who was in charge of combat means, noting that the operation was carried out in coordination with the General Security Service (Shin Bet).

He added that the confirmation of the killing of the two men was based on what he called “accurate and unusual information” from the Internal Security Service (Shin Bet).

What is the significance of the occupation army officially announcing the assassination of Hamas leader Marwan Issa? pic.twitter.com/ADVyrwsJlS

- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) March 26, 2024

According to the Israeli army, Marwan Issa is one of the planners of the October 7 attack, which Hamas called the Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood, and he is also the most prominent Hamas leader to be killed since the beginning of the war about 6 months ago.

On March 11, the Israeli occupation army announced that its fighters bombed what it called an underground base for Hamas leaders near the Nuseirat camp that was used by two senior officials in the movement, one of whom was Marwan Issa.

Days later, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that Issa was killed in an Israeli raid on the central Gaza Strip.

Marwan Issa is considered one of the most wanted men in Israel and the United States, as the US State Department added him to its list of “most wanted global terrorists” in particular since 2019, while the European Union placed him on the “terrorism blacklist” after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies