Arab Media Reports Five Hamas Leaders Eliminated in Gaza Strike

Latest Developments

Israel eliminated five leaders of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas approximately a week and a half ago during an airstrike that destroyed a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, two Hamas sources told the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Aswat. The August 2 report, cited widely in Israeli media, said that the strike killed Hamas political leaders Rawhi Mushtaha and Sameh al-Sirag, along with three commanders of the group’s military wing, identified as Abdul Hadi Siam, Sami Odeh, and Muhammad Hadid. In November, the Israel Defense Forces targeted Mushtaha and Siraq inside a tunnel but could not confirm their deaths.

According to the report, the first bombing of the tunnel in the early part of the Gaza war had partially damaged their hideout. After the most recent bombing of the tunnel, located southwest of Gaza City, the bodies of the terrorist leaders were pulled from the rubble following an effort that took several days. The destroyed tunnel served as a command-and-control center for the terrorist group and had rooms for sleeping, allowing Hamas fighters to stay there for extended periods.

Expert Analysis

“Hamas is being hollowed out, first with the destruction of infrastructure and fighting force and now with the elimination of key leaders. Contrary to the group’s disinformation, Israel’s military strategy does appear to be working.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“If Israel has eliminated Mushtaha and Sirag, this would be another accomplishment to add to the growing list of goals achieved by the Israeli military since the war began. At the onset of the war, Hamas employed a strategy to separate leaders and commanders to make it difficult for Israel to decapitate the upper echelon of the group. While this strategy has slowed Israel’s campaign of targeting those responsible for October 7, the Jewish state has nonetheless been able to reach those terrorists with blood on their hands.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Rawhi Mushtaha and Sameh Sirag Were Veteran Hamas Leaders

Mushtaha joined Hamas in 1987 and was one of the founding members of its military arm, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Egyptian publication Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. Furthermore, Mushtaha assisted in establishing Hamas’s infamous “Al-Majd” internal security apparatus, which is in charge of investigating suspected Israeli operatives and counter espionage. Arrested by Israel in 1988, Mushtaha was later released along with Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange deal to free the captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In 2012, after participating in Hamas’s internal elections, he became a member of Hamas’s political bureau and, in 2015, was sanctioned as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department. According to The Jerusalem Post, he is believed to have a close relationship with Sinwar, with whom he was imprisoned in Israel, as well as with the recently eliminated Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.

While little information is available about Sirag, he is known to have served on Hamas’s politburo for three election terms, overseeing its financial portfolios. He was also in charge of Al-Majd as well as a secret intelligence unit operating out of Turkey. Separately, Israeli news outlet Kan Reshet Bet reported that Sirag was part of a Hamas outfit that managed “electronic warfare, counterintelligence, and the purchase of dual-use materials.”

“Bomb That Killed Hamas Leader Reportedly Smuggled Into Guesthouse Months Ago,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Confirms Hamas Terror Commander Muhammad Deif was Killed on July 13,” FDD Flash Brief

“After Eliminating Ismail Haniyeh, Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders Continues,” FDD Flash Brief