Israel says Hamas govt de-facto head ‘eliminated’ in Gaza: How IDF killed Rawhi Mushtaha

Rawhi Mushtaha was described as one of Hamas' most senior operatives.

The Israeli military announced Thursday that it had "eliminated" Rawhi Mushtaha, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, along with two senior security officials, during airstrikes carried out three months ago.

“In a joint IDF and ISA strike in the Gaza Strip, the following terrorists were eliminated: Rawhi Mushtaha, the Head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip; Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas’ political bureau and Hamas’ Labor Committee; and Sami Oudeh, Commander of Hamas’ General Security Mechanism,” the Israel military said in a statement.

According to  reports, fighter jets struck and eliminated the terrorists while they were hiding in a fortified and equipped underground compound in the northern Gaza Strip.

The compound served as a Hamas command and control centre and enabled senior operatives to remain inside of it for extended periods of time. The compound was managed by senior members of Hamas’ General Security Mechanism and functioned as a hideout for the Hamas leadership, led by Mushtaha, according to News18.

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Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 3, 2024

The Israeli military said following the elimination, Hamas did not announce their deaths to prevent the loss of morale and functioning of its terror operatives.

Rawhi Mushtaha was a member of Hamas’s Gaza politburo and in charge of its financial affairs. He was previously a member of the group’s main Politburo (first elected in 2012). He reportedly helped co-found Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (IQB). Mushtaha was arrested by Israel in 1988 and was part of the group of Palestinian prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit held by Hamas. In September 2015, he was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US Department of State.

Mushtaha was knows to be a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas leader, who allegedly  helped mastermind the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war. Sinwar is thought to be alive and in hiding within Gaza.