Israeli Army Says It Killed Hamas Commander In Gaza Airstrike

The Israeli army said Tuesday that it killed Hamas deputy military commander Marwan Issa in an airstrike earlier this month.

"This evening, after examining all intelligence information, we can confirm the elimination of Marwan Issa in an airstrike we carried out about two weeks ago," Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in recorded speech.

"Alongside Marwan Issa, Ghazi Abu Tamaa was killed in the attack," he added.

Hagari noted that Issa was the deputy to Mohammed Deif, the overall commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and one of the planners of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel last year.

Issa and Abu Tamaa were eliminated in a complex and precise operation based on intelligence provided by the Shin Bet internal security service and military intelligence, Hagari said.

There has been no comment by Hamas on Issa's killing.

Israeli media on March 10 reported the assassination of Issa in an airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a claim Israel confirmed Tuesday evening.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Palestinian territories since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 32,400 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 74,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul -