The IDF attacked from the air the most senior member of the leadership after Izz ad-Din Haddad. He is considered the architect of the"Jericho Wall" plan, and in recent months has been engaged in rebuilding Hamas' military strength in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel is expected to explain to the Americans: this is a response to ceasefire violations. He was previously the target of assassination attempts, and it is claimed that he was captured in Shifa.

Yoav Zeiton, Einav Halabi|

The air force targeted a vehicle in Nablusi Square, west of Gaza City, at noon (Saturday), targeting Ra'ad Sa'ad, considered the number two Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, after Izz ad-Din Haddad. The attack was carried out by firing a missile from an unmanned aerial vehicle. According to Palestinian reports, four people were killed, and it appears that Sa'ad was one of them. The name given in Israel to the attempted assassination is"Last Supper."

Raed Saad and documentation from the scene of the attack:

2 Viewing the gallery

A joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet spokespeople stated that "a key terrorist in the Hamas terrorist organization was attacked in Gaza City, who had recently been involved in attempts to restore and produce weapons for the organization."

Recently, there have been several opportunities to eliminate Saad, who has led Hamas' military rehabilitation in the northern Gaza Strip since the ceasefire. Today, a high-probability identification of his location above ground was achieved, and therefore he was attacked. The defense establishment is expected to explain to the Americans, who are wary of such actions, that this is a response to frequent ceasefire violations by Hamas in the form of suspects approaching the Yellow Line.

As head of Hamas's operations headquarters, it was Saad who wrote the plan for the invasion of Israel,"The Wall of Jericho". This is a general-command, front-wide and organizational-wide plan, the success of which depended on complete surprise - as indeed happened on October 7, 2023 - and almost all of the military wing's forces were activated, some 40,000 men, led by the Nuhva. Its first stage was a massive and well-timed infiltration of Hamas forces into Israeli territory across the entire width of the sector, while activating all the formations and means at their disposal - fighters (Nuhva), engineering teams, air defense, anti-tank, artillery, UAVs, paragliders and naval power. Saad was born in 1972 and is one of the"2005 generation", Hamas field commanders who emerged in the first intifada, were imprisoned for a long time in Israel and the PA, gained military experience in the second intifada and saw themselves as those who pushed Israel out of the Gaza Strip 20 years ago - a move that allowed Hamas to establish a government in the area. Strong and transform from a terrorist and guerrilla organization into a jihad army whose purpose is to attack Israel. In a speech he gave in November 2013, on the one-year anniversary of Operation Pillar of Defense, Saad hinted at the vision he shared and realized within a decade:"Hamas is constantly improving its strength and preparing for the next campaign against Israel."

Throughout the Iron Swords War, Israel attempted several times to eliminate Saad, but without success. In March 2024, the IDF also announced, apparently by mistake, that Saad had been arrested in a raid on Shifa Hospital. Only a few days later did Israel announce that this was a mistake and that he had not been arrested.

Earlier on Saturday, an IDF spokesman announced that a terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line and posed a threat to the forces was eliminated yesterday. Another terrorist who crossed with him managed to escape."The forces of the 7th Brigade Combat Team operating in the southern Gaza Strip identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in a way that posed an immediate threat." It was reported that "immediately after identification, the forces eliminated one terrorist in order to eliminate the threat."