Hamas commander seen alive after reportedly eliminated

Palestinian media showed footage of Hussein Fayyad, commander of the Hamas Beit Hanoun Brigade, speaking at a funeral.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A Hamas commander who was reportedly eliminated in May, according to the IDF, now appears to be alive.

Palestinian media showed footage of Hussein Fayyad, commander of the Hamas Beit Hanoun Brigade, speaking at a funeral. The IDF had announced that Fayyad was killed in an operation that included the 98th Division, the Air Force, and the elite Yahalom unit.

Fayyad was filmed on Wednesday, saying, “When the strong doesn’t achieve its goals, it is defeated; but the weak, which prevented the strong from achieving its goals – it is the victor.”

IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari had announced the killing of Fayyad in May. The Arabic text in the X post below reads:

“A legendary appearance of the seven-souled leader, Hussein Fayyad (Abu Hamza), commander of the Beit Hanoun Battalion, speaking about the concept of victory in war.

“It is worth noting that the enemy army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, announced his assassination on May 23, 2024, following a face-to-face clash with him in a tunnel in Jabalia.”

Although such errors are rare, it is not the first time the IDF has caught its own mistakes in reporting that certain terrorists have been killed. For instance, the army had said it eliminated Mahmoud Hamdan, the commander of the Tel a-Sultan Battalion in Rafah, but he was later seen standing next to Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza who was later killed in an Israeli military operation.