Hamas commander reappears in Gaza despite Israeli assassination claims

GAZA CITY, Palestine

A Hamas commander has reappeared in the northern Gaza Strip despite Israeli claims of assassinating him last year.

Activists on Wednesday shared video footage of Hussein Fayyadh, a commander of Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, during a rally in northern Gaza.

"Gaza has emerged unbreakable, victorious, and with its head held high," Fayyadh told participants in the rally, according to the footage.

On May 23 last year, the Israeli army claimed to have killed Fayyadh inside an underground complex in the northern town of Jabalia. Israel blames the Hamas commander for rocket fire during the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza and on Israeli settlements near the border with the enclave.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army acknowledged that its intelligence about Fayyadh’s death was inaccurate.

The first six-week phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 111,160 since Oct. 7, 2023.

The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

* Writing by Betul Yilmaz.