Israel announced on Sunday that Rafa Salama, a senior Hamas military commander and one of the key planners behind the October 7 attack that ignited the Gaza conflict, has been killed in an airstrike. According to a military statement, the Israeli Air Force targeted and eliminated Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade, in an attack on Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip.
The military had earlier indicated that the attack was also aimed at Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military leader. However, a Hamas official confirmed that Deif remains alive and is directing operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also acknowledged that there is no certainty regarding Deif's death.
The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza reported that 92 people were killed and over 300 injured in the attack on the Al Mawasi camp, a refuge for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians. The military clarified that their strike on Saturday was aimed at Deif and Salama in an open area, described as an operational compound rather than a tent complex.
Sunday's military statement identified Salama as one of Deif's closest associates and a mastermind behind the October 7 massacre in southern Israel. Salama joined Hamas in the early 1990s, rose to the rank of battalion commander, and played a significant role in the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, who was later released in 2011 in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
As the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade since 2016, Salama was responsible for numerous rocket launches into Israel and the construction of two offensive tunnels. The October 7 attack led to the deaths of 1,195 people, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. In response, Israel's military actions have resulted in at least 38,584 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza's health ministry.
