Israel confirms terror group’s spokesman Abu Obeida killed
Israeli cabinet meets in secure location amid fear of retaliation for Gaza airstrike.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Israel declared on Sunday that notorious Hamas spokesman Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, known as Abu Obeida, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City a day earlier.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet had initially said only that Saturday’s strike targeted a senior Hamas operative, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed at the weekly cabinet meeting that the target was indeed Abu Obeida.
The outcome was initially unclear, with Israeli security sources expressing cautious optimism, before Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Sunday that the strike had been successful.
In a post on X, Katz wrote that the longtime spokesman “was sent to meet all the eliminated members of the axis of evil from Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen at the bottom of hell”. He added that as the campaign over Gaza intensifies, Abu Obeida would be joined by “many more of his partners in crime — Hamas murderers and rapists”.
The IDF later issued a statement calling Abu Obeida “the face of the terrorist organisation” and confirming he had been the target of the strike. It said the operation was jointly conducted by Shin Bet’s operations war room and the Southern Command, enabled by prior intelligence.
According to the military, for the past decade Abu Obeida oversaw Hamas’s propaganda apparatus, directing spokesperson operations across brigades, coordinating between political and military media, and setting propaganda policy. Hamas’s propaganda wing was responsible for disseminating October 7 massacre footage, distributing hostage videos, and inciting further terror acts, the IDF said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Eyal Zamir described the hit on Abu Obeida as part of a “series of significant strikes in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and other areas”, vowing it was “not the end” and that the military would continue to pursue Hamas leaders abroad.
Abu Obeida had served as spokesman of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades since 2004, rising to prominence in 2006 when he announced the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. His last statement, issued Friday, warned Israel that hostages in Gaza City faced the “same risks” as Hamas fighters should Israel launch its expected offensive there.
The killing came days after Israeli strikes eliminated Ahmed Ghaleb al-Rahwi, prime minister of the Houthi-led government in Yemen. Netanyahu, addressing the cabinet on Sunday, said the IDF was moving ahead with its decision “to defeat Hamas and bring back all of our hostages”, while also promising continued operations against senior Houthi officials.
He stressed that since June’s 12-day war with Iran, Israel had been systematically striking members of the so-called “axis of evil” across multiple fronts.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.
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