Media: Senior Hamas commander killed in joint Israeli airstrike Photo

A senior Hamas military commander, Hussein Fayyad, also known as Abu Hamza, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, according to Israeli authorities.

Fayyad, who commanded Hamas forces in Beit Hanoun, had reportedly been in hiding for months in an extensive underground tunnel network, Caliber.Az reports per N12.

The Israeli Air Force, in coordination with the Shin Bet security agency, targeted and struck the tunnel system in a precision operation carried out on July 20.

The Israeli military stated that Fayyad had long been responsible for rocket and mortar attacks targeting the Israeli city of Sderot and surrounding communities in the Gaza periphery.

He also oversaw anti-tank missile launches and was directly involved in multiple attacks against Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) units.

One of the most high-profile operations he allegedly orchestrated was the deadly ambush in which five soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion were killed.

Israeli forces had previously claimed to have killed Fayyad in 2024, but footage released months later revealed that he had survived that earlier attempt.

By Aghakazim Guliyev