Israeli defense minister confirms Hamas propaganda chief killed

Hamas terrorist who held British-Israeli woman captive reportedly killed by IDF as Israel confirms that the top Hamas spokesman in Gaza has been eliminated.

By World Israel News Staff

Abu Obaida, a senior Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend, Israel’s defense chief confirmed on Sunday.

In a statement released via his X account, Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) announced that Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, better known by his nom de guerre “Abu Obaida,” was killed when Israeli warplanes bombed his home in Gaza City on Saturday.

“Hamas terror spokesperson Abu Obaida was eliminated in Gaza and sent to meet all the liquidated members of the axis of evil from Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen at the bottom of hell,” Katz tweeted.

“Congratulations to the IDF and Shin Bet for the flawless execution. Soon, with the intensification of the campaign in Gaza, many more of his criminal partners — Hamas murderers and rapists — will join him there.”

Abu Obaida, 40, was killed shortly after moving into a newly rented house in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, a Palestinian source told the Saudi-based Al Arabiya outlet on Sunday.

The Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency also issued a joint statement Sunday afternoon confirming al-Kahlout’s death.

“The IDF and Shin Bet eliminated the head of the propaganda apparatus of Hamas’ military wing, Hudayfa al-Kahlout, known as ‘Abu Obaida,'” the statement read.

According to Israeli security officials, the strike was directed jointly from the Shin Bet’s operations command center in cooperation with the IDF’s Southern Command. It was facilitated by intelligence information collected by the Shin Bet and the IDF’s Military Intelligence, which located the house rented out by al-Kahlout.

“Abu Obaida was among the last senior figures of Hamas’ military wing remaining from before October 7th,” the IDF and Shin Bet said.

“Over the past decade, the terrorist served as head of the propaganda apparatus of Hamas’ military wing. In that capacity, he was responsible for the spokesman system in the brigades and battalions and for coordinating between political spokesperson bodies and the military wing, and he was the senior figure determining propaganda policy.

“Hamas’s propaganda apparatus, under al-Kahlout’s command, was responsible for disseminating the atrocities of the October 7th massacre by using footage recorded by Hamas terrorists.”

Separately, Israeli media outlets reported Sunday afternoon that Hazem Naim, a Hamas terrorist who held British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari captive in the Gaza Strip, has been eliminated by the IDF. If confirmed, it will mark the second time a terrorist who held Damari captive has been killed.