Tel Aviv, Israel – The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it had carried out a targeted military operation inside the Gaza Strip, resulting in the assassination of two senior Hamas leaders. In an official statement, the military explained that the operation targeted the city of Khan Younis last Tuesday, confirming the death of Ihab Kreizim, whom it described as “the head of a central structure responsible for transferring funds to Hamas.”
Targeting Hamas’ financing network and manufacturing capabilities
According to the Israeli account, Kreizim ran a complex financial network that transferred millions of dollars to the movement’s military wing. The statement also accused him of continuing to violate the ceasefire agreement, alleging that his financial and logistical activities “enabled the advancement and execution of imminent terrorist plots” against Israeli forces and civilians.
In the same context, the Israeli army confirmed the assassination of another leader named “Mohammed Al-Habash”, who held the position of head of a unit in the “Production Authority” of Hamas, noting his direct role during the war in developing and manufacturing combat equipment for the benefit of the movement’s military wing.
The policy of systematic assassinations since October 2023
These strikes come as part of the systematic assassination strategy pursued by the Israeli army since the start of the war in October 2023. In a move reflecting the extent of the attrition suffered by the movement’s leadership, the Israeli army published on Wednesday a list of 16 of its senior military commanders targeted, announcing its success in eliminating 15 of them, the latest of whom was Muhammad Awda, who was recently appointed to a leadership position in the military wing.
Wanted list: Who was assassinated and who is still alive?
The list includes prominent names in the first and second ranks of the movement, namely: (Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, Marwan Issa, Raed Hussein Saad, Ahmed Al-Ghandour, Mohammed Sinwar, Rafe Salameh, Mohammed Shabaneh, Raed Thabet, Ghazi Abu Tama’a, Ayman Siam, Hudhaifa Al-Kahlout, Ayman Nofal, in addition to Mohammed Awda and Al-Haddad).
وفي المقابل، أشار البيان الإسرائيلي إلى أن قيادياً واحداً فقط ضمن هذه القائمة لا يزال على قيد الحياة، وهو “عماد عقل”. تعكس هذه البيانات العسكرية إصرار الجانب الإسرائيلي على تفكيك الهياكل التنظيمية والمالية لحركة حماس عبر ملاحقة القادة في مختلف التخصصات، من الإدارة المالية وصولاً إلى التصنيع العسكري، مما يضع مستقبل الحركة التنظيمي في مرحلة دقيقة ومفتوحة على كل الاحتمالات الميدانية والسياسية في ظل استمرار العمليات العسكرية.
