- Written by Phil McCausland
- BBC News, New York
Members of the Izzuddin al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza (2022 file image)
White House official Jake Sullivan announced that Hamas leader Marwan Issa was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
As deputy military commander, Issa becomes the most senior Hamas leader to die since the war began on October 7.
The Palestinian group that controls Gaza has not publicly commented on reports of his death.
Israeli media reported that Issa was killed last week in an attack on a tunnel complex beneath the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The deputy commander of the Hamas military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was considered one of Israel's most wanted men. The European Union has placed the Hamas leader on its terrorist blacklist, directly linking him to the group-led October 7 attack that killed around 1,200 people.
image source, media source
Marwan Issa (circled in file image)
He was imprisoned by Israel for five years during the first Palestinian uprising and was held by the Palestinian Authority from 1997 until the beginning of the second intifada in 2000.
Israeli forces have killed numerous Hamas leaders since October 7. Hamas political leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut. Israel is widely believed to be responsible for the attack.
Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said other Hamas leaders were also believed to be hiding “deep within the Hamas tunnel system” in the Gaza Strip.
He promised that the United States would support Israel as it continues its search for Hamas' leader, adding: “There will be justice for them.”
But he also noted that US President Joe Biden, in his first phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a month, expressed growing concern about the rising number of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip. emphasized.
Sullivan said the US president reiterated his commitment to Israel and Israel's “right to attack Hamas,” but also said it would be “a mistake” for Israeli forces to invade Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. Ta. Millions of refugees fled during the war.
The US national security adviser told reporters that the invasion would “cause further deaths of innocent civilians, exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen anarchy in Gaza, and threaten the international It will further isolate Israel.”
More than 31,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since the war began on October 7, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry. The death toll has drawn international condemnation and alienated many of Israel's allies.
Sullivan said that during the phone call, President Biden asked Netanyahu for a “clear and strategic endgame” on Gaza.
image source, Getty Images
Relations between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are becoming increasingly strained as the war in Gaza continues.
“The president simply told the prime minister today that he shares the goal of defeating Hamas, but believes we need a coherent and sustainable strategy to achieve it.”
Biden told Israeli leaders he would send a “senior interagency team of military, intelligence, and humanitarian officials” to Washington in the coming days to discuss U.S. concerns over the Rafah invasion. I was able to get him to agree.
Sullivan said Israel is expected to delay the attack until that meeting takes place.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the call on X (formerly Twitter), saying the two sides “discussed the latest developments in the war and Israel's goals in the conflict.”
The Israeli Prime Minister stated that these goals include “removing Hamas, releasing all hostages, ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to help achieve these goals.” This includes “providing.''
Democratic Party leaders in the United States have stepped up their criticism of Mr. Netanyahu.
On Thursday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu was putting his “political survival” ahead of the country's needs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party responded by saying that Israel is not a “banana republic” and that his policies are “supported by the vast majority.”
Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that Schumer's remarks were expected. But the president said the Senate majority leader “expressed serious concerns that he and many Americans share.”
Elsewhere, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his sixth visit to the Middle East this week since the start of the Gaza conflict.
He is scheduled to hold meetings in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to discuss international efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would ensure the release of all remaining hostages.
Israeli negotiators are scheduled to begin talks in Qatar on Tuesday in a new attempt to secure a ceasefire agreement.
