Debuting new spokesman, Hamas admits former ‘Abu Obeida’ killed in August |
Hamas’s armed wing officially confirmed on Monday the deaths of its longtime spokesman and a number of other senior officials, months after they were killed in Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip.
Making his public debut, the new spokesman of the al-Qassam Brigades, said he would also go by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — like his predecessor. He also announced that the terror group’s commander, Muhammad Sinwar, and Rafah brigade chief Muhammad Shabana had been killed in May, that senior Qassam officer Hakem al-Issa had been killed in June, and that Hudhaifa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout — the former Abu Obeida — was killed in August.
The deaths of all four had already been confirmed by Israel.
“We have inherited the title ‘Abu Obeida’ from the commander Hudhaifa al-Kahlout, and we pledge to continue the journey,” said the spokesman in his first public speech, without revealing his own identity.
He also paid tribute to Qassam’s slain second-in-command Raed Saad, who was killed by Israel earlier this month, and whose death Hamas had