The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday evening the elimination of Waleed Haniyeh, a deputy commander of Hamas's Nukhba elite force and a nephew of the late Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh. The military said Haniyeh was killed in the Gaza Strip; no specific location was given. The announcement follows earlier unconfirmed reports of his death, followed by a funeral held Friday.
The IDF officially confirmed the elimination of Waleed Haniyeh, a deputy commander in Hamas's Nukhba force and a nephew of the former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, in an operation in the Gaza Strip. The military did not specify the date or location of the strike, but the announcement comes a day after Haniyeh's funeral was held in Gaza on Friday, where participants chanted slogans calling for renewed confrontation with Israel, footage showed. As The Zioneer reported on June 26 — itself an earlier unconfirmed report — the funeral included celebratory gunfire and anti-Israel chants. The IDF's statement now formally marks Haniyeh's elimination as part of the military's ongoing campaign to target operatives involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks. Haniyeh's Nukhba company was directly implicated in the infiltration of Israeli territory on October 7. The IDF statement did not specify whether Haniyeh was killed in a ground operation or an airstrike. Waleed Haniyeh had been reported killed in earlier Israeli operations in Gaza over the preceding weeks, but this is the first official military confirmation of his death.
6 developments
- DevelopingHamas Nukhba operative Waleed Haniyeh buried amid gunfire and anti-Israel chants
- StrongIDF eliminates Hamas Nukhba terrorist who held hostage Omer Shem Tov
- StrongHamas confirms killing of arms dealer Mohammed Zayed in Al-Yamun by Duvdevan, Shin Bet
- DevelopingIDF drone strike kills Hamas battalion commander in Khan Younis, second operative
Source and signal
- Internal intake