Israel announces death of Hamas “head of government” – DW – 03/10/2024

The Israel Defense Forces announced this Thursday (03.10.2024) the death three months ago of Hamas political bureau member Rawi Mushtaha, whom they identified as the “head of government” of the Islamic group – considered a terrorist. Union European Union – An airstrike in the Gaza Strip killed two other senior officials.

The attack hit an underground complex north of the strip, which the army said “served as a command and control center” for the Islamists and allowed high-ranking members to remain hidden for long periods. According to Israel, Mushtaha had direct influence on decisions regarding the group’s military activities, and was involved in military decisions.

Describing him as “right”, the military said, “Mushtaha was considered the most senior figure in Hamas’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip and during the war he maintained civilian control over the Hamas regime while engaging in terrorist activities against Israel.” Hands” of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in the enclave and mastermind of the October 7 attacks.

Hamas did not make any announcement

Sameh al-Siraj, head of security at the Islamic group’s political bureau, and Sami Oudeh, commander of the General Security Mechanism (Internal Police), were also killed in the attack on the command center. Israel also accused the group of not announcing the deaths of three senior officers so as not to damage the morale of its fighters. In fact, the group has not responded to the information provided to date.

For its part, the Gaza Strip’s health ministry announced a new figure of 41,788 deaths in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the conflict with Israel. The figure includes 99 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 96,794 people have been injured in the strip since the conflict began on October 7.

dzc (AFP, EFE)