JERUSALEM — Israel said Saturday it killed top Hamas commander Raed Saad in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, escalating tensions around a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Dec. 13, 2025.
The Israeli military said Raed Saad was targeted after an explosive device wounded two Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza and accused Hamas of rebuilding weapons capabilities during the truce, while Hamas denounced the attack as a “clear breach” and did not confirm Saad’s death. Reuters reported the strike was the most high-profile assassination Israel has announced since the ceasefire took effect in October.
Gaza health authorities said the strike killed five people and wounded at least 25. Witness accounts and local reporting described a scene of twisted metal and shattered glass around the targeted car as emergency crews rushed the wounded to overwhelmed hospitals.
Hamas, already accusing Israel of repeatedly testing the truce’s limits, said the attack hit a civilian vehicle outside Gaza City and warned it could jeopardize talks meant to push the ceasefire into a second phase. The Associated Press reported that Israel has also tied progress to the return of the remains of the final hostage it says is still being held in Gaza, a demand that has become a sharp point of friction as negotiators press both sides to move forward.
Raed Saad and what Israel says he controlled inside Hamas
Israel described Raed Saad as a senior figure in Hamas’ armed wing, linking him to planning for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and portraying him as central to efforts to restore weapons production. In a joint statement carried by multiple outlets, Israeli leaders referred to him as “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7 assault, language that underscores why Israel framed the strike as both retaliation and prevention.
Outside Israel, Saad has been tracked for years as a key operational figure inside the Qassam Brigades. A European Council on Foreign Relations profile published earlier described Raed Saad as heading operations and production functions and previously leading Hamas’ Gaza City brigade — roles that align with Israel’s claim that he helped rebuild militant capacity despite the truce.
This was not the first time Israel was reported to have gone after him. In a June 2024 report in The Times of Israel, Israeli strikes were said to have targeted Raed Saad in Gaza City amid uncertainty about whether he was killed — an episode that now reads like a preview of Saturday’s headline-grabbing claim.
Why this strike rattles the truce
The ceasefire that began in October was designed to halt large-scale fighting and create space for hostage and prisoner arrangements, aid deliveries and negotiations on Gaza’s governance and security. A Council on Foreign Relations explainer on the broader plan notes how quickly implementation can bog down once the process moves from “stop shooting” to questions like disarmament, enforcement and who controls Gaza the day after.
That is the political minefield this killing steps into. The Financial Times reported that Hamas accused Israel of trying to sabotage the ceasefire, while Israel argued the strike fell within the truce’s security logic because it was aimed at an imminent threat and alleged rearmament.
For now, the dispute over Raed Saad is more than a battlefield claim — it is a stress test. If Hamas verifies his death and chooses retaliation, the truce could fracture fast. If it holds fire, Israel’s strike may reset the ceasefire’s boundaries anyway, signaling that high-value targets like Raed Saad remain in the crosshairs even when diplomacy is supposed to be doing the heavy lifting. Al Jazeera reported there was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saad was among the dead — a silence that may not last long.
