Israel’s strikes on Hamas leaders in recent days haven’t hit key military commanders
Officials killed since war resumed were not leading fighting forces against IDF, but securing terror group’s grip over Gaza’s populace. The likes of Mohammed Sinwar are underground
Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
In the first hours of Israel’s surprise resumption of its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza early on March 18, the IDF killed several senior Hamas officials in a series of airstrikes. While some of them were known to the people of Gaza, they were largely unfamiliar to those outside the region. There’s a reason for that: they were not directly leading the terror group’s fighting forces against Israel, but responsible for maintaining Hamas’s grip over Gaza and its population.
One of the most significant figures killed was Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the director of Hamas’s Ministry of Interior, the bureaucracy responsible for preventing challenges by the Gaza populace to Hamas’s rule. Hamas’s police force and other internal security bodies operate under its authority. Days before his assassination, Abu Watfa was seen patrolling Gaza’s streets, accompanied by Hamas police officers.
Another key figure eliminated was Bahajat Abu Sultan, the head of Hamas’s internal security forces. Unlike Hamas’s military forces, this security apparatus is primarily focused on the Palestinian population, not on Israel. It arrests, interrogates, and even executes individuals whom Hamas perceives as threats — whether alleged collaborators with Israel or figures who are targeted by Hamas to demonstrate the terror group’s authority, such as Gaza-based traders accused of price gouging. During the ceasefire, footage emerged of such traders being shot by armed groups reported to be Hamas security forces.
A slightly different role was held by Mohammad Al-Jamasi, another of those eliminated last week. While Hamas officially stated that he was merely a member of its Political Bureau, the IDF and some Arab media sources identified him as the head of Hamas’s Emergency Committee. This body was responsible for ensuring Hamas’s continued governance during the war, coordinating with municipal leaders, and managing the distribution of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
The precise roles and influence of several other Hamas members who were killed in the initial wave of Israeli strikes remain unclear. These include: Yasser Harb, another Hamas Political Bureau member; Ahmad Al-Hattha, who oversaw the Hamas-run Ministry of Justice in Gaza; and Issam Al-Da’alis, the head of Hamas’s government administrative committee — and thus essentially Gaza’s prime minister. All held senior positions, but it is uncertain whether their responsibilities changed during the war or if they maintained their previous level of influence.
On Sunday, Hamas announced the death in a raid that day of Salah al-Bardawil, a well-known figure in its political wing who had frequently given media interviews in the past but had not been publicly active since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and slaughter. His role in the war also remains unclear.
Although the number of high-ranking officials killed in the IDF strikes has been relatively small to date, some conclusions can be drawn.
All of those eliminated were tied to Hamas’s internal governance in Gaza. Their deaths could weaken Hamas’s hold on the population, but in the absence of an alternative governing authority, would be most unlikely to cause the collapse of Hamas’s rule. The more likely result would be heightened chaos among civilians.
The pace of assassinations has slowed. There was a gap of several days between the initial strikes and the most recent one, which may indicate that the IDF is struggling to locate and eliminate senior Hamas figures. Notably, before the now-lapsed ceasefire took effect on January 19, the IDF had briefed Israeli media that “the war in Gaza is stagnating” and that there were few significant targets left to strike.
There are no senior figures from Hamas’s military wing, the group actively conducting the war and holding Israeli hostages, among those publicly named as having been eliminated. Reports based on Israeli sources indicate that Hamas’s military leadership used the ceasefire to reorganize its forces.
It can be assumed that Israel has been trying to target senior military figures, apparently without success.
There were reports from Gaza suggesting that the family of Muhammad Shabana, the Hamas brigade commander in Rafah, was killed, likely as part of an Israeli attempt to assassinate him. However, he appears to have survived.
Key military leaders, including Shabana and Mohammed Sinwar — who is believed to be leading Hamas’s operations in Gaza after Israel killed his brother, October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, five months ago — went underground before the initial Israeli raids. Though the timing of Israel’s early Tuesday offensive was a surprise, the ceasefire had already been breaking down, allowing Hamas to anticipate a potential escalation.
Israel’s greatest advantage in this renewed phase of fighting was the element of surprise. However, that advantage was gone within hours on Tuesday. Without mistakes by Hamas’s senior military and “civilian” leadership, it is difficult to see how Israel will succeed in eliminating additional high-ranking Hamas figures in the near future.
