Rafa’a Salameh, Hamas chief of Khan Yunis, was eliminated by the Israeli army.
The commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, Rafa’a Salameh, was killed on Saturday in a targeted attack by Israeli fighter jets in the humanitarian area of al-Muwasi in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet (Israeli domestic intelligence agency) confirmed on Sunday, following earlier confirmation by the Gaza-based terror group.
Salameh is the third of five Hamas brigade commanders for the entire Gaza Strip to be killed during the war; two of them are still at large.
Hamas’s brigade commanders form the foundation of the terrorist group’s field leadership, similar to how Israel has commanders-in-chief for its northern, central and southern commands.
In addition, Salameh was considered a particularly close confidant of Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who was also a victim of the attack on Saturday, but whose fate is still uncertain.
Salameh was considered one of the few mediators between Sinwar and the Taliban in hostage negotiations, so his death had far-reaching consequences that went beyond military issues.
More recently, Salameh was behind the Khan Yunis Brigade’s attempt to re-establish itself as a missile strike weapon against the southern part of the Israel-Gaza corridor, undermining Jerusalem’s claim that the war had eliminated the rocket threat from Hamas.
About Rafa’a Salameh
Salameh directed much of the invasion plans from southern Gaza to the southernmost Israeli border towns with Gaza in anticipation of the October 7 massacre.
He joined Hamas in the early 1990s and was eventually appointed commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Al Qarara Battalion in 2016 under the command of Mohammed Sinwar, who later joined the Hamas High Command.
The IDF determined that Salameh played a significant role in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Salameh commanded Hamas’ combat support and defense plans.
In addition to being responsible for all rocket fire in the region, he also commanded an operation during the 2021 Gaza conflict that launched a surprise attack on Israeli soldiers and villages from Khan Yunis via two attack tunnels.
During this operation, the Israeli army managed to kill 18 terrorists who tried to enter Israeli territory, thus thwarting the plan of a mini-invasion.
Israeli security authorities generally believe that Deif was killed along with Salameh, but there is still no physical evidence.
In addition, Hamas has acknowledged Salameh’s death but explicitly denied Deif’s death.
Last night, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau Khalil al-Hayya told Qatari state broadcaster Al Jazeera that Deif heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory speech and laughed at it.
According to the IDF, the complex attacked belonged to Salameh and was registered in his name.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with air force officials and congratulated them on the attack and the overall qualitative advantage they are giving the Israeli army in operations in the Gaza Strip.
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