Hassan Labad, deputy head of Hamas's General Security Apparatus, was killed overnight in a combined air and naval strike in the northern Gaza Strip. Arutz Sheva reported that the operation was carried out by the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and that three other senior figures from the apparatus died alongside him.
The IDF and the Shin Bet described the General Security Apparatus as a central, clandestine Hamas body. Its role is to secure the group's senior officials, maintain communication between them and coordinate their meetings. According to the two agencies, its senior members protect Hamas leaders, move them between emergency facilities and produce intelligence assessments. Those assessments include intelligence collected on Israeli security forces, which the leadership uses in decision-making and in carrying out attacks against Israel.
Labad was a central figure in the apparatus's decision-making and in shaping its directives.
The three other senior officials killed in the strike were:
- Asim Amin Shalash Shubair
- Abdullah Ata Younes Abu Kaloub
- Muhammad Naaman Zaki Abu Mark
Each held a key position in the apparatus's decision-making process.
The IDF and the Shin Bet stated that the four men were struck to remove an immediate threat. The agencies said the men had recently been working to rebuild Hamas and were helping its leadership advance terror activity against Israel and IDF troops.
The two agencies added that steps were taken before the strike to reduce harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.
