The Israeli military on Thursday confirmed that the forces killed three senior Palestinian leaders of the Hamas militant group, including the Head of the Hamas government in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a post on X said that Rawhi Mushtaha, the Head of the Hamas government in Gaza; Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas' political bureau and Hamas' Labor Committee and Sami Oudeh, Commander of Hamas' General Security Mechanism were killed in a joint operation in Gaza three months ago.
The IDF said that the three Hamas leaders were killed in a strike on an underground compound in northern Gaza.
"IAF fighter jets struck and eliminated the terrorists while they were hiding in a fortified and equipped underground compound in northern Gaza. The compound served as a Hamas command and control center and enabled senior operatives to remain inside of it for extended periods of time," the IDF said in the post.
However, there have been no confirmation from Hamas.
The Israeli military said that it will continue to pursue all of the terrorists responsible for the October 7 massacre and will operate against anyone who threatens the country.
Rawhi Mushtaha was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, a top Hamas leader who helped in planning the October 7 attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people and triggered the conflict in the Middle East. In 2015, the US Department of State had designated Mushtaha as a "specially designated global terrorist".
The European Council on Foreign Relations also described Mushtaha as a member of Hamas's Gaza politburo who also oversaw its financial affairs, according to news agency AFP.