Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip eliminated the head of the Hamas government and other key terrorist leaders in a wave of violence following the collapse of their ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces announced Tuesday.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA), also known as Shin Bet, said in a joint statement that the airstrikes eliminated Essam al-Da’alis, head of the Hamas government and “the most senior figure of authority in the Gaza Strip.”
“Essam al-Da’alis replaced Rawhi Mushtaha in this position after he was eliminated in July 2024. In his role, al-Da’alis was responsible for the functioning of Hamas’ terror regime in the Gaza Strip and oversaw the integration of all of Hamas’ branches in Gaza and their use for terrorist purposes,” the statement said.
The IDF and ISA also determined with “high probability” that Israeli strikes eliminated Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu-Watfa, the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; Bahajat Hassan Mohammed Abu-Sultan, who served as Head of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; and Ahmed Amar Abdullah Alhata, who served as Hamas’ Minister of Justice.
Over the past day, the IDF said it “struck dozens of terror targets and terrorists throughout the Gaza Strip, including mid-level and senior-ranking terrorists in Hamas’ Political Bureau.”
“The strikes were conducted to damage Hamas’ governmental and military capabilities, and to remove threats to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the statement said. “The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization and remove any threat to the State of Israel.”