Israel has continued its assassination campaign in Gaza despite the ceasefire
The funeral of Raed Saad, a commander n the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and three of his aides, killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, 14 December 2025
Tareq S. Hajjaj writes in Mondoweiss on 18 December 2025:
On December 13, the Israeli army assassinated Raed Saad, a senior commander in the Qassam Brigades and head of its weapons production. It was not the first strike deep into Hamas’s military wing or that of other resistance factions in Gaza. In fact, it was a continuation of Israel’s policy in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement was signed in October 2025.
Since the first days of the ceasefire, Palestinian civilians have been targeted for crossing the “yellow line,” which demarcates Israeli-controlled areas but is not clearly delineated. Later, beginning in mid-October, a clear pattern of assassinations began to emerge. The assassination of five fighters from the Qassam Brigades’ elite unit on October 17 marked the beginning of Israel’s assassination campaign during the ceasefire, which has not eased since.
On October 19, Yahya Al-Mabhouh, the commander of an elite unit, and Ahmad Abu Mutair, a broadcast engineer, were assassinated. Both were affiliated with the Qassam Brigades. On October 29, several Qassam commanders were assassinated, including Hatem Al-Qudra, along with other martyrs. On November 17, a field commander in Gaza City, Wisam Abdelhadi, a commander in the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, was assassinated.
On November 20, five senior leaders in Hamas were assassinated, including Ahmed Abu Shammala, head of the naval unit, Nihad Abu Shahla, head of intelligence, Fadi Abu Mustafa, and others. Likewise, on November 22, the Israeli army announced the assassination of five additional commanders.
And then, on December 13, Raed Saad.