Hamas stated that senior military figure Raed Saad, along with several other members of the Islamist group, were killed in an Israeli military operation on December 13.
“The martyred commander and mujahid Raed Saeed Saad ‘Abu Muadh,’ head of the military manufacturing division […] ascended to glory as a martyr along with a number of his fellow mujahideen yesterday, Saturday, 22 Jumada al-Akhirah 1447 AH, corresponding to 13/12/2025, as a result of a cowardly assassination carried out by the criminal Zionist enemy, in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a written statement published on its Telegram channel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet intelligence agency said that Saad, whom they noted was among the few remaining senior Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip, was eliminated in an airstrike as he traveled in a vehicle in the Gaza City area. The IDF and Shin Bet said that Saad was involved in planning the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and held several senior positions within Hamas. He was also a close associate of the now deceased Marwan Issa, who was the deputy head of Hamas’s military apparatus.
Notably, among his many roles, Saad established Hamas’s Nukhba (elite) unit during his time as head of the operations headquarters. He was later appointed head of the weapons production headquarters, overseeing the manufacture of a broad range of weapons for Hamas’s military wing ahead of the October 7 attack, the IDF noted. During the war with Israel, Saad also led efforts to rehabilitate Hamas’s weapons-production capabilities. Explosive devices produced under his command were responsible for the deaths of numerous Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas later named Riyad al Labban, Abd al Hayy Zaqout, and Yahya al Kayali as members who were also killed in the strike. While it is unclear what roles Zaqout and Kayali held, open-source evidence suggests that Labban may have been Saad’s bodyguard.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the airstrike that killed Saad as a defensive enforcement of the ceasefire, saying that Saad violated the deal by “planning and carrying out attacks” against Israeli troops. In contrast, two unnamed White House officials told Axios that “The White House sent a stern private message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” saying the operation was a “violation of the ceasefire.”
Raed Saad had been a persistent Israeli target before his killing. According to multiple Israeli reports, Israeli forces targeted him in an earlier strike in June 2024, when fighter jets hit sites in Gaza City believed to be associated with Saad. However, neither Israel nor Hamas confirmed his death at the time. Following Saad’s killing, Hamas confirmed that it appointed an unnamed commander to replace him.
