Clarion Newschannel – Gaza City/Jerusalem, December 14, 2025
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it had killed Raed Saad (also reported as Raed Saed or Raad Saad), a senior commander in Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in a targeted airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza City. Israeli officials described Saad as one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and sparked the two-year war. He was accused of heading operations and weapons production, and recently working to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities in violation of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October.
The strike, which destroyed a car near the Nabulsi junction in western Gaza City, killed at least four to five people and wounded around 25 others, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas condemned the attack as a “brazen criminal breach” of the truce but did not confirm Saad’s death or threaten immediate retaliation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the operation was a direct response to an earlier incident on Saturday, in which an explosive device detonated in southern Gaza, lightly wounding two reserve soldiers during an operation to clear terrorist infrastructure.
The assassination marks the highest-profile killing of a Hamas figure since the ceasefire began, raising concerns about the stability of the fragile agreement. Both sides have accused each other of repeated violations, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 386 Palestinians killed in Israeli actions since October.
Amid the ongoing tensions, the World Health Organization (WHO) has continued to warn of a devastating health crisis in Gaza after two years of conflict. Only about 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, with severe shortages of medical supplies, fuel, and aid exacerbating malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and untreated injuries.
Separately, in recent days, Israeli drone strikes in areas near Khan Younis, including the al-Mawasi displacement zone, have killed several Palestinians, including children, according to local reports and health authorities. These incidents highlight the persistent risks faced by civilians in designated humanitarian areas.
The international community has urged restraint to preserve the ceasefire and advance toward its second phase, which envisions broader reconstruction and governance changes in Gaza
Israel Eliminates Key Hamas Commander Behind Oct. 7 Attacks, Escalating Tensions in Fragile Gaza Ceasefire
