GAZA, Palestine – The Israeli military has confirmed the killing of Rashid Jahjouh, the head of Hamas’s internal security agency, in a targeted airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
This marks the latest high-profile elimination as Israel intensifies its military campaign in the region.
The renewed airstrikes began early Tuesday, shattering a tenuous calm that had prevailed since a ceasefire was brokered on January 19.
Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced the operation on social media, stating, “In recent days, Israeli forces struck and eliminated the terrorist Rashid Jahjouh, head of the Hamas General Security Service.”
Jahjouh had assumed his role following the death of his predecessor, Sami Oudeh, in July 2024.
The Hamas General Security Service is reportedly responsible for combating espionage and providing intelligence to the group’s political leadership to aid strategic decision-making.
In addition to Jahjouh, Israeli forces also targeted and killed Ismail Abdel-Al, a prominent figure in the arms smuggling operations of the Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas.
These actions come amid an intensified Israeli assault, which the Gaza-based civil defense agency reports has claimed 504 lives, including more than 190 children.
The conflict has also seen significant losses among Hamas’s political leadership.
On Tuesday, Hamas named Essam al-Dalis, the head of its government in Gaza, and Mahmud Abu Watfa, the interior ministry head, as among those killed in recent strikes.
The Israeli military confirmed Dalis’s death, identifying him as a member of Hamas’s political bureau who had led the administration in Gaza since June 2021.
