The army noted that Salameh joined Hamas in the 1990s and played a central part in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006.
By JNS
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Sunday that Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was killed the previous day in a targeted airstrike on terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza.
“Acting upon information from the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet, fighter jets yesterday attacked in the Khan Younis area and killed Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the military announced on X.
“Salameh was one of the close associates of Mohammed Deif, the head of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization, one of the planners and executors of the October 7 massacre,” the IDF said in the post.
The army noted that Salameh joined Hamas in the 1990s and played a central part in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. He also played a significant role in Hamas’s tunnel project and was responsible for rockets fired into the Jewish state from Khan Younis.
Salameh’s death “constitutes significant damage to the military capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization,” added the military.
Salameh and terror master Mohammed Deif were targeted in a structure close to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone and Khan Younis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night that it could not yet be confirmed whether the two men died in the strike.
Speaking at a press conference from the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Israeli leader said that “while there is no absolute certainty yet that they were eliminated, I would like to assure you that one way or another, we will reach the entire Hamas leadership.”
Hamas sources confirmed that Salameh was killed in the Israeli Air Force attack, while refusing to confirm or deny Deif’s death, according to a Sunday morning report in the pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
A top Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that Deif was “fine” despite the assassination attempt. “Commander Mohammed Deif is well and directly overseeing” the terror group’s armed wing, the official said.
Israel’s Kan News reported on Saturday that security officials told the political echelon during a situational assessment that Deif was wounded from the attack, and that they are waiting for final confirmation, which could take time.
The officials also confirmed that Salameh was killed.
Ynet on Sunday cited IDF intelligence that “dozens” of bodies were brought to Deir al-Balah’s Al Aqsa Hospital following the strike. The center reportedly became a fortified Hamas base following the raid, making it difficult to identify the bodies, one of which may be Deif’s.
Deif is the second in command in Gaza after Yahya Sinwar, the IDF’s top target after the two men led the planning and execution of the Oct. 7 massacre of over a thousand people in southern Israel.
Deif, 58, the head of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, is also responsible for planning several bus bombing attacks in the 1990s and 2000s.