US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that Hamas’s one of the top leader, Marwan Issa, was killed in a Israeli airstrike.
Issa was ranked behind Gaza strongman Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif in Hamas hierarchy.
“Hamas’s number three, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week,” Sullivan told reporters at a White House press briefing. The rest of the top leaders are in hiding, likely deep in the Hamas tunnel network. And justice will come for them too, and we are helping to ensure that.”
Jake Sullivan discloses Issa’s death while briefing journalists on President Joe Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He did not disclose how the operation was done. Although Issa death has not been publicly confirmed by Israel or Hamas. Issa was hiding inside a building in the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Issa was 59-year old, whose friends call him”Commando”. He was one of the most secretive and insidious senior official in Hamas.
Issa was a talented basketball player in his early years before he was taken into custody by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Issa took part in a number of covert meetings in Egypt as he rose through the ranks of Hamas to negotiate agreements for the release of Hamas detainees. Issa was instrumental in ensuring that Hamas captives were released with an eye toward the future benefits they would bring to the terror group, working closely with Saleh Arouri in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap.
The main architect of Hamas’s more hierarchical army structure was none other than Issa. He also participated in the plotting of retaliatory strikes following Israel’s 1996 murder of Hamas bombmaker Yahya “The Engineer” Ayash.
However, Israel has made several attempts to kill Issa in the past but could not succeed in that.
