Hamas issued an official statement early Tuesday confirming the killing of senior military wing commander Ahmad al-Batsh (Abu Osama) in an Israeli strike on his vehicle in northern Gaza City earlier tonight. According to the statement, al-Batsh commanded the Jabaliya al-Bald battalion, infiltrated Israel during the October 7 massacre, and previously served as head of the weapons department in northern Gaza.
Hamas issued an official statement early Tuesday confirming the death of senior commander Ahmad al-Batsh (Abu Osama), who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his vehicle in the Al-Saftawi neighborhood of northern Gaza City earlier tonight. The statement identified al-Batsh as the commander of the Jabaliya al-Bald battalion of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and noted that he infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 massacre and previously served as head of the weapons department in northern Gaza.
The confirmation follows a series of unverified reports from Gaza sources. The Zioneer first reported the strike at 01:01 Tuesday, citing Palestinian sources, naming al-Batsh as the target. Earlier, at 23:53 Monday, multiple Gaza sources described al-Batsh as the head of Hamas intelligence for northern Gaza, while others identified him as the commander of the Jabaliya al-Bald battalion. The source quality has now escalated from anonymous Palestinian sources to an official Hamas statement, placing the elimination on the official record.
The elimination of al-Batsh is the latest in a series of Israeli strikes targeting Hamas commanders who participated in the October 7 attack. As The Zioneer has reported in recent months, the IDF has eliminated numerous Nukhba force commanders and training officials in an effort to dismantle Hamas's military command structure in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF has not issued an official statement regarding the strike. The Hamas confirmation establishes the death on the official record, though the military's acknowledgment remains pending.
3 developments
- StrongReports: Senior Hamas commander killed in Gaza car strike
- StrongIDF and Shin Bet kill two Hamas commanders in Gaza, including Nukhba cell leader
- StrongHamas military wing confirms death of Shati Battalion field commander Muhammad Mushtaha
- StrongIDF and Shin Bet eliminate Hamas Oct. 7 infiltrator Jamal Abu Kamil in Gaza City
Source and signal
- Open-source intake