Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced on Monday the death of five of its senior commanders, including its masked spokesperson Abu Obeida, marking one of the most significant losses within the group’s leadership since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
In a recorded statement, Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed for the first time the identity of Abu Obeida as Hudhaifa Samir Abdullah Al-Kahlout. The group said he was killed alongside Mohammad Sinwar, the brigades’ chief of staff; Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade; Raed Saad, head of the manufacturing unit; and commander Hakam Al-Issa.
In its statement, the Qassam Brigades framed the deaths in collective terms, linking the commanders’ fate to that of their families and wider Palestinian society. “What pride and honor it is that the blood of the fighters mixes with the blood of their families, that leaders and their loved ones stand at the forefront of those who sacrifice everything they own,” the statement said.
“We are from you and you are from us. Together, with contented souls, we have offered the most precious of what we possess in response to our God’s call and in hope of what awaits with Him.”
Israel’s Arabic language army spokesperson had announced in September that the military killed Abu Obeida, a claim Hamas neither confirmed nor denied at the time. Monday’s statement marks the first official acknowledgment by Al-Qassam Brigades of his death.
At the time, the Israeli army published a post on X identifying Hudhaifa Al-Kahlout as the real name of Al-Qassam spokesperson, who was known for appearing with his face covered by a red keffiyeh. The Israeli military accused him of disseminating Hamas “propaganda.”
According to the Israeli army, its forces struck an apartment in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighborhood with three missiles during that period, killing seven people and injuring more than 25 others, while the apartment was completely destroyed.
The Israeli military claimed that Abu Obeida was among the last remaining military leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades who had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israeli settlements around the Gaza Strip. It said he was responsible for the group’s military media operations, issuing statements in the brigades’ name and coordinating between Hamas’ political and military media bodies.
Israel also accused Abu Obeida of being behind the dissemination of what it described as inciting videos before and during the war Israel has waged on Gaza for nearly two years, claiming they aimed to incite Arab and Palestinian audiences to attack Israeli civilians.
At the time of Israel’s announcement, family sources told Al Manassa, speaking on condition of anonymity, that they had no confirmed information regarding his killing and said any official confirmation would come through Hamas’ official platforms in the weeks or months ahead.
Abu Obeida was appointed official spokesperson of Al-Qassam Brigades in 2006. His first public appearance came on June 25, 2006, following a joint resistance operation in which Palestinian groups, including Hamas, raided an Israeli military site near the Gaza border.
He had begun appearing in the media as early as 2002 as one of the senior field commanders in Hamas’ armed wing. Throughout that period, he attended the movement’s press conferences but never appeared publicly.
Following Israel’s 2005 expulsion from Gaza, Abu Obeida was promoted to become the official spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing.
In 2013, Abu Obeida obtained a master’s degree from the Islamic University’s Faculty of Usul Al-Din. His thesis was titled “The Holy Land Between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” A year later, reports said he was preparing for doctoral studies.
Meanwhile, Israel’s army has continued to violate the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip since it came into effect in October, carrying out near-daily air raids on homes and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians.
Israel has refused to proceed to the second phase of the agreement unless all Israeli captives held by Hamas are released. One captive remains unaccounted for, with Palestinian resistance groups saying they are still searching for him beneath the rubble.
