Massive Achievement
IDF Eliminates Hamas #2 Raad Saad in Targeted Gaza City Airstrike | WATCH
The IDF confirms a precision drone strike in Gaza City killed Raad Saad, Hamas’s senior military commander and alleged second-in-command, in a targeted operation during the ongoing ceasefire. He had survived two assassination attempts.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Saturday that a precision drone airstrike in western Gaza City killed Raad Saad (also spelled Ra'ad Sa'ad or Raed Saad), a senior Hamas military commander widely regarded as the second-in-command of the group's armed wing, behind only Izz ad-Din al-Haddad.
The strike targeted a vehicle traveling along the Al-Rashid coastal road near al-Nabulsi Square. According to Israeli officials and Palestinian reports, the attack killed four individuals in total, Saad and three others.
The Jerusalem Post reported that intelligence indicated Saad had emerged from an underground tunnel complex, where he had been operating for months, approximately one hour before the strike.
Saad, born in 1972, was a veteran Hamas operative and key figure in the organization's military infrastructure. He headed the operations and weapons manufacturing division, overseeing rocket production, tunnel networks, and efforts to rebuild Hamas's military capabilities in northern Gaza during the current fragile ceasefire.
Israeli sources describe him as instrumental in developing Hamas's rocket arsenal, urban warfare tactics, and elements of the "Jericho Wall" plan linked to the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He participated in both Intifadas, founded Hamas's "military academy," and was previously imprisoned by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israel had targeted Saad multiple times during the war without success, including during the March 2024 raid on Shifa Hospital (where he escaped) and unconfirmed reports in June 2024.
Of all the Hamas leaders who planned October 7th, Izz ad-Din Al Haddad is the only one still alive.
According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, cited by The Times of Israel, Israel did not inform the United States in advance of the operation.
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense issued a joint statement:
"In response to the activation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the Yellow Zone of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed that the terrorist Ra’ad Sa’ad, head of Hamas’s force‑build‑up headquarters, be neutralized.
Sa’ad was one of the architects of the October 7 massacre and in recent days has been engaged in rehabilitating the terrorist organization and in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, as well as rebuilding an assault force, blatantly violating the ceasefire rules and Hamas’s commitments to respect President Trump’s plan.
Instead of advancing demilitarization, he was working to rearm for acts of terror.
Anyone who raises a hand against Israel and harms IDF soldiers will have that hand severed, in Gaza and anywhere else.
On behalf of all the citizens of Israel, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense wish our wounded fighters a speedy recovery."
The operation occurred amid an ongoing ceasefire, with Israel framing it as a necessary response to prevent Hamas rearmament.
In response to the elimination, Hamas stated:
“The attack on a civilian vehicle in the western part of Gaza City constitutes a continuation of violations of the ceasefire agreement. This crime underscores once again that Israel is deliberately seeking to undermine and derail the ceasefire, escalating its ongoing breaches. We call on the mediators and the states party to the agreement to take responsibility for these blatant violations.”
No immediate reports indicate broader escalation following the strike.