Top Hamas moneyman killed in Gaza strike, Israel says

Gaza medics say 2nd man killed and two wounded in Khan Younis vehicle strike that took out Hamas's top financial official; Netanyahu, Katz say they 'will not stop until there is no Hamas in Gaza'

By Emanuel Fabian and Reuters Today, 4:22 pm
Palestinian firefighters extinguish a fire on a vehicle hit by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, September 23, 2026. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

Hamas’s top financial official was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced.

Gaza sources said two people were killed when their car was hit.

The strike in Khan Younis killed Mohammed Abu Alwan, the head of the terror group’s financial department, Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement.

“We continue to pursue Hamas commanders and operatives, strike its sources of funding, and destroy its terror infrastructure. We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength, and we will not stop until there is no Hamas in Gaza,” they said.

The IDF did not immediately issue a statement on the strike, the latest in near-daily attacks over the past few days. The military and the Shin Bet security service have devoted significant time and resources to eliminating the terrorists who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, atrocities.

Gaza medics, who operate under Hamas, said that Alwan and Osama Abu Khater were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in western Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. Two other people were wounded, they added.

Hamas didn’t immediately comment.

The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, with the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

The ensuing war between Israel and Hamas has killed over 73,400 people in Gaza, including more than 1,400 since the October 2025 ceasefire, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave, although the toll does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Palestinians carry the body of Nael Abu Obeid, a commander of the Qassam Brigades in Rafah, the military wing of Hamas, draped in the group’s flag, during his funeral after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, in Khan Younis, September 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

The Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Intermittent Israeli airstrikes have continued, with Israel saying they target active threats and those acting to rebuild Hamas capabilities in violation of the truce.

Defense Minister Israel Katz (L) speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the assembly hall of the Knesset, December 16, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)

Israel and Hamas trade blame over responsibility for violations of the ceasefire agreement.

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