The United States announced that Hamas’ number three, Marwan Issa, died last week in an Israeli offensive.
“He died in an Israeli operation last week. The rest of the senior officials are hiding, probably in the deep network of Hamas tunnels,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a press conference.
The representative of the US Administration stressed that Washington will help to do justice.
“Israel has registered a significant advance against Hamas. They have destroyed a remarkable number of Hamas battalions and killed thousands of fighters, including high commanders,” he added.
The announcement, not confirmed by Israel, comes on the same day that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone for the first time in weeks.
In that conversation they discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and a possible Israeli operation in the city of Rafah, the southernmost point of the Palestinian enclave, and that Washington considers a “mistake.”
In the hierarchy of Hamas within the Gaza Strip, Marwan Issa is the “number 3”, since the leader is Yahya Sinwar, head of the Islamist group in the enclave, uniting the political and military branches; followed by Mohamed Deif, commander-in-chief of the Qasam Brigades.
