By Mike Brest. Media: Washingtonexaminer
National security adviser Jake Sullivan affirmed on Monday that Israel killed Marwan Issa, one of the most senior figures in Hamas, last week.
Sullivan’s apparent confirmation of Issa’s death represents one of the most senior Hamas officials killed in Israel’s war against the terrorist group that carried out the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history last October.
Issa was the deputy to Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing, which is known as the Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades. They, along with Yahya Sinwar, are believed to be the masterminds behind the group’s Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel that left roughly 1,200 people dead and triggered the war.
“Israel has made significant progress against Hamas,” Sullivan told reporters. “They’ve broken a significant number of Hamas battalions, killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including senior commanders. Hamas’s No. 3, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week.”
Other senior Hamas leaders, like Sinwar, have eluded Israeli forces for more than five months, even as Israel has killed thousands of Hamas fighters. Sullivan said he believes they are hidden deep within Hamas’s significant tunnel infrastructure.
“The rest of the top leaders are in hiding, likely deep in the Hamas tunnel network, and justice will come for them too. We are helping to ensure that,” he added.
Sullivan’s comments came hours after President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in weeks. The two leaders, who have had a relationship for decades, have increasingly butted heads as the war in Gaza continues.
Biden, during the call, expressed concern about Israel’s intentions to carry out full-scale military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge from the war.
“A military plan cannot succeed without an integrated humanitarian plan and political plan. And the president has repeatedly made the point that continuing military operations need to be connected to a clear strategic end game,” Sullivan explained.
As such, the president asked Netanyahu to dispatch a group of senior leaders to visit Washington, D.C., to hear their concerns more thoroughly. The Israeli leader agreed, and they could come to the capital by the end of this week or early next week.
The United States and many European nations have long held reservations about Israeli operations in Rafah due to the significant civilian population in the area, whereas Israeli officials have said they cannot achieve their military objectives of demilitarizing Hamas and removing the group from power without completing operations in the southernmost part of the strip.
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