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4:41 p.m. ET, March 18, 2024
Senior Hamas commander killed in Israeli airstrike last week, White House says
Jake Sullivan speaks during a news briefing at the White House in Washington, DC on March 18.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike last week, the White House said Monday.
“Israel has made significant progress against Hamas. They have broken a significant number of Hamas battalions. Killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including senior commanders. Hamas’ number three, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week,” said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Asked to confirm the White House’s statement, the Israel Defense Forces told CNN it would not comment.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said on March 9 that Israeli forces had attacked an underground compound used by Issa and other senior Hamas officials in the Nazirat area of central Gaza. Because the compound was underground, the IDF was not able to verify whether Issa was killed, Hagari said.
An Israeli military spokesperson said last week that Issa is the deputy of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military division, and was one of the planners of the October 7 attack against Israel.
Sullivan was describing President Joe Biden’s call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Monday when he said the senior commander was killed. He said Biden stressed the importance of a “coherent and sustainable strategy” to defeat Hamas.
This post has been updated with comments from the Israel Defense Forces.
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