Killing of ‘Marwan Issa’ Hamas Number Three Confirmed

The United States confirmed the killing of “Marwan Issa,” the third-ranking figure in Hamas.

Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the U.S. government, announced the confirmation of the killing of “Marwan Issa,” one of the senior leaders of Hamas, in an Israeli attack.

According to Israeli media reports, Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing and one of the highest-ranking leaders of the group who was heavily pursued by Israel, was killed last week in an Israeli air strike on a network of underground tunnels located beneath the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

During the “First Intifada,” Marwan Issa was imprisoned in Israel for 5 years, and was subsequently detained by the Palestinian Authority in 1997 until the beginning of the “Second Intifada” in 2000. The European Union, which had placed him on its terrorist blacklist, stated that he directly played a role in the October attacks on Israel, attacks that resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths.

Jake Sullivan, regarding the killing of some of Hamas’s political leaders since the beginning of the October 7 war, stated: “It is believed that other Hamas leaders have hidden themselves in the depths of Hamas’s tunnel network in Gaza. However, the United States is working to help Israel in finding Hamas leaders.”

Mr. Sullivan, referring to the Israeli military’s successes against Hamas, emphasized that “Joe Biden,” the President of the United States, during a conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed his concerns regarding civilian deaths in the mentioned war, so much so that the continuation of the Gaza war has further strained the relationship between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Joe Biden, in the mentioned conversation, emphasized his commitments to Israel and its right to pursue Hamas, saying: “But it is wrong for the Israeli military to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, because more than one million Palestinians have fled to Rafah during the war.”

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Advisor, in remarks to reporters said: “Such an operation would lead to the deaths of more innocent civilians, worsen the humanitarian crisis, intensify chaos in Gaza, and further isolate Israel on the global stage.”

Mr. Sullivan, while referring to the fact that Joe Biden sought a clear end strategy in Gaza from Benjamin Netanyahu, added: “Today the President once again told the Prime Minister of Israel that we are jointly pursuing the defeat of Hamas, but we believe that you should have a coherent and sustainable strategy to achieve that.”

Joe Biden succeeded in this conversation in obtaining the agreement of Israel’s leader to send a high-level team composed of military, intelligence, and humanitarian officials to Washington in the coming days to discuss American concerns about an attack on Rafah.

Benjamin Netanyahu also, by posting on social media platform X, confirmed the mentioned conversation and said: “The two leaders discussed the latest developments in the war and Israel’s objectives in this conflict, and these objectives are as follows: eliminating Hamas, freeing all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel, and at the same time providing necessary humanitarian assistance will help achieve these objectives.”