The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) today announced the death of Rawi Mustaha, a senior Hamas official who headed the government in the Gaza Strip.
"Mustaha was one of the most senior Hamas officials and directly influenced decisions related to the deployment of Hamas forces," the IDF statement said.
Two other senior Hamas figures, Sameh al-Shiraz and Sami Udeh, were killed along with Mustaha in an airstrike about three months ago, the Israeli military said.
As pointed out, Hamas refrained from announcing the loss at the time so as not to demoralize its fighters.
The Israeli military said the airstrike that eliminated senior Hamas figures was carried out based on intelligence gathered by the IDF and Shin Bet. The 3 Palestinian leaders were hiding inside "a fortified and equipped underground compound in the northern Gaza Strip". It is a complex that previously served as a Hamas command and control center and was specially configured so that Hamas terrorists could remain there for extended periods, the statement explained.
Source: protothema.gr