White House confirms Israel killed Hamas No. 3 in strike last week
Jake Sullivan becomes first official in any government to definitively say Marwan Issa is dead, adds other top Hamas leaders ‘are in hiding… and justice will come for them too’
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday confirmed Israel killed the deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing in a recent strike, becoming the first official in any government to publicly do so.
“Hamas’s number three, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week,” Sullivan said during a White House press briefing.
“The rest of the top leaders are in hiding, likely deep in the Hamas tunnel network, and justice will come for them too. We are helping to ensure that.”
Sullivan noted US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Israel’s military operations in Gaza during their phone call Monday, with the former “emphasiz[ing] his bone-deep commitment to ensuring the long-term security of Israel and [re]-affirm[ing]…that Israel has a right to go after Hamas, the perpetrators of the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
“Israel has made significant progress against Hamas. They’ve broken a significant number of Hamas battalions and killed thousands of Hamas fighters including senior commanders,” Sullivan added.
His remarks came a day after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that Hamas was trying to hide Issa’s fate.
“We embarked on this operation after many days of complex planning, creating the operational conditions, and gathering sufficient intelligence. This is a very important achievement for the IDF. A capability we have built over the years together with the Shin Bet, a combination of high-quality intelligence and precise fire from the Air Force, which enables the elimination of senior officials underground,” Halevi said at a press conference.
“This attack is an expression of the IDF’s ability to reach the most complex places, at the right time, and with high precision. We will continue the effort to eliminate the senior officials. This is a major goal in the war,” Halevi stated.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also hinted Sunday that the targeting of Issa was successful.
“Thanks to the ground operation, we reached information that led to [eliminations] and successes. This is true for northern Gaza, the central camps in Nuseirat, and Rafah,” Gallant said after visiting troops of the 98th Division at an army base in central Israel.
Issa served as the deputy of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Together with Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, they are believed to have masterminded the group’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel that triggered the ongoing twar.
Known as the “Shadow Man,” Issa was long known for evading the IDF and rarely made public appearances.
