On Monday night, the IDF began striking the Gaza Strip, in a move that the Prime Minister’s Office said was in response to Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages still held in Gaza.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMARCH 18, 2025 08:15Updated: MARCH 18, 2025 10:09
Five senior Hamas members were allegedly killed in the IDF strikes on Gaza overnight, Israeli and Arab media reported on Tuesday, citing Palestinian reports.
On Monday night, the IDF began striking the Gaza Strip in a move that the Prime Minister’s Office said was in response to Hamas’s refusal to release the hostages still held in Gaza.
On Tuesday morning, Hamas claimed that over 300 people have been killed so far. Palestinian media sources and Sky News Arabia reported that five Hamas officials were among the casualties and named them as Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the director-general of Hamas’s Interior Ministry; Abu Obeidah Muhammad al-Jamasi and Issam al-Da’alis, members of Hamas’s political bureau; Ahmed Omar al-Hatta, a senior leader; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, responsible for Hamas’s internal security apparatus.
Details of the senior members
Da’alis, a native of Jabalya, previously served as Hamas’s de facto prime minister in Gaza. However, Arab media claimed that Da’alis was eliminated in a strike on 23 July 2024, confirming his death months later on 22 January 2025.
Da’alis also worked as an advisor to Ismail Haniyeh.
Palestinian official Issam al-Da’alis from Hamas’s political bureau stands outside the VIP hall at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on October 3, 2021, as a delegation from Gaza travels to Egypt for talks. (credit: Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images)
Hatta, known as “Abu Omar,” reportedly served as the director-general of Hamas’s Justice Ministry and was involved in strengthening the Islamic legal system in the Strip, Ynet reported.
Sultan was reportedly responsible for internal operations in Gaza and was considered to be a prominent leader in Hamas, according to Sky News Arabia.He previously held the position of director-general of the Organization and Administration Authority in Hamas’s Interior Ministry.
Watfa was director-general of Hamas’s Interior Ministry in Gaza. Israeli media reported his family was also killed in the strike on his Gaza home.
Jamasi was a Hamas leader who served as an administrative head of the terror group. According to Ynet, his last public appearance was before October 7, and he has not been seen since.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-846486.
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