Marwan Issa, deputy commander of the Hamas military wing in the Gaza Strip and mastermind of the October 7 attack against southern Israel, was confirmed dead Monday by a senior American official after an Israeli airstrike more than a week ago.
Jake SullivanThe US national security adviser told reporters that Issa, one of Hamas’ highest-ranking officials, had been killed.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on March 11 that Israeli military planes had attacked Issa and another senior Hamas official in a underground complex in central Gaza.
With his death, Issa, who had been among the most sought after men of Israel, became the highest-ranking Hamas leader killed in Gaza since the war began.
Israeli officials called the attack a major breakthrough in their campaign to overthrow the Hamas leadership in Gaza.
But experts warned that his death would not have a devastating effect on Hamas’ leadership structure.
A view of destroyed buildings in Palestinian territory following bombings amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP)In the past, Israel has killed Hamas political and military leaders, just to see them quickly replaced.
Here’s a closer look at Issa and what his death means for Hamas and its leadership.
What was Issa’s role in Hamas?
Issa, who was 58 or 59 at the time of his death, had since 2012 been deputy to Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of the Qassam Brigadesthe military wing of Hamas.
Issa took office after the assassination of another senior commander, Ahmed al-Jabari.
Issa served on both Hamas’ military council and its political office in Gaza, overseen by Yehia Sinwar, the group’s highest-ranking official in the enclave.
Issa has been described by Palestinian analysts and former Israeli security officials as a important strategist who played a key role as a liaison between Hamas political and military leaders.
Salah al-Din al-Awawdeh, a Palestinian analyst close to Hamas, described Issa’s position in the group as “part of the vanguard of the military wing’s leadership.”
Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman, the former head of Israel’s military intelligence, said Issa is simultaneously Hamas’s “defense minister,” its deputy military commander and its “strategic mind.”
What does his death mean for the group?
Experts described Issa as an important associate of Deif and Sinwar, even as they affirmed his death He posed no threat for the survival of the group.
“There is always a substitute,” Awawdeh said.
“I do not believe that the assassination of any member of the military wing will have any effect on their activities.”
Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and expert on Palestinian affairs, said Issa’s death was a blow to the Qassam Brigades, although he admitted it was not “the end of the world” for Hamas.
“He had a lot of experience,” Milshtein said.
“His death is a great loss for Hamas, but it is not a loss that will lead to its collapse and will not have consequences for a long time. In a week or two they will get over it.
Milshtein added that while Issa’s opinion was valued at the highest levels of Hamas, the fact that he did not directly command fighters meant that his death did not leave a large void in Hamas operations.
How was it described?
Issa was a lesser-known member of Hamas’ top leadership, keeping a low profile and rarely appearing in public.
Gerhard Conrad, a former German intelligence officer who met Issa more than a decade ago, described him as a “decisive and calm” person with no charisma.
“He wasn’t very eloquent, but he knew what to say and got straight to the point,” Conrad said in an interview.
Conrad said he met Issa, al-Jabari and Mahmoud al-Zahar, another senior Hamas official, about 10 times between 2009 and 2011 in Gaza City.
The men met as part of an attempt to negotiate a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
“He was the owner of the information on prisoners“Conrad said of Issa.
“I had all the names to negotiate.”
Conrad, however, said that by then it was evident that Issa was al-Jabari’s subordinate.
“He was kind of the chief of staff,” he said.
Only after al-Jabari’s assassination did Issa’s importance grow, but he was still willing to remain hidden.
Few images of Issa are in the public domain.
Awawdeh, the analyst, described Issa as a man who liked to “remain in the shadows” and rarely gave interviews to the media.
In one of those rare interviews, Issa spoke in 2021 about his role in the indirect talks that led Israel to the exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners by a single Israeli soldier, Sgt. First Class Gilad Shalit and his hopes for a future conflict with Israel.
“Even though the resistance in Palestine will be monitored by the enemy at all hours, it will surprise the enemy,” he told Al Jazeera at the time.
In a separate interview with a Hamas publication in 2005, Issa praised the militants who attacked Israeli settlements and military bases, calling the actions “heroic” and “advanced activities.”
What is known about his early life?
Issa was born in the Bureij area of central Gaza in 1965, but his family comes from what is now the Israeli area of Ashkelon.
A member of Hamas for decades, Awawdeh said he was involved in the militant group that persecuted Palestinians believed to be collaborating with Israel.
Issa spent time in prisons run by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Hagari said that Issa helped plan the attack led by Hamas on October 7, but Issa is also believed to have planned operations aimed at infiltrating Israeli settlements during the second intifada in the 2000s, Milshtein said.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.