Raad Saad: Latest Hamas Commander Killed by Israeli Airstrikes

Raad Saad: Latest Hamas Commander Killed by Israeli Airstrikes

Executive Summary:

• On December 14, 2025, Hamas officials confirmed that an Israeli airstrike killed Raed Saad, the group's de facto chief of staff, weapons manufacturing head, and al-Qassam Brigades’ commander.
• Saad’s notable actions within Hamas include co-masterminding the October 7 attacks, establishing a military academy for urban warfare tactics, and attempting to revive the group's depleted military capabilities.
• Despite challenging Yahya Sinwar for political power in the 2021 elections, Saad remained militarily aligned with the Sinwar brothers and was considered the second-most senior commander in Gaza, making his death a potential significant hindrance to Hamas’s attempt to reconstitute itself.

On December 14, in a speech marking the 38th anniversary of Hamas’s founding, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s highest-ranking official, confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Hamas al-Qassam Brigades’ commander, Raed Saad (The Times of Israel, December 14, 2025). Israel justified the killing on the grounds that Saad had been attempting to revive Hamas’s military capabilities, which had been severely depleted during more than two years of war in Gaza. Revenge for Saad’s role in co-masterminding the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacres in Israel, however, certainly motivated Israel to target him as well (Al Jazeera, December 13, 2025).

Skeptical Arab observers allege that the aerial strike on Saad’s vehicle outside Gaza City was a violation of the Israel–Hamas ceasefire. They claim his death, moreover, will not put a dent in Hamas’s will to “resist” and that the airstrike was intended to provoke Hamas to retaliate, end the ceasefire, and lead to continued fighting (The New Arab, December 22, 2025). According to this theory, Israel would exploit any fighting after Saad’s death to further entrench its control of territory and extend the so-called “Yellow Line” deeper into Gaza (trtworld.com, October 20, 2025).

Whatever Israel’s objectives were in assassinating Saad, he was undoubtedly a top Hamas official and headed the organization’s weapons manufacturing units. These units were innovative in developing rockets for Hamas’s military arsenal despite difficulties in procuring supplies under sanctions pressure (Long War Journal, December 16, 2025). The depletion of Hamas’s leadership ranks as a result of two years of war in Gaza has also meant that, in Israel’s view, Saad became the de facto “chief of staff" in Hamas and the second-most senior military official remaining in Gaza behind only Izz al-Din al-Haddad (ynetnews.com, September 9, 2025).

Prior to his rise to the top of Hamas’s leadership following the October 7 attacks, Saad gained credibility among the rank-and-file by establishing a military academy where Hamas’s foot soldiers learned the types of tactics they conducted in Israel (jfeed.com, December 13, 2025). Once Israel invaded Gaza, urban warfare became essential for Hamas, but this had already been ingrained in Hamas’s foot soldiers through the military academy. As a result, Israeli ground troops were subjected to constant threats when entering Gaza’s urban areas, and they ended up reaching a ceasefire before risking urban combat in Gaza City itself (americanbar.org, November 20, 2023).

Saad was also considered a rival to Muhammed and Yahya Sinwar, former Hamas leaders who were both killed by Israel during its post-October 7 campaign in Gaza. Saad sought to block Yahya’s re-election as leader in Hamas’ Gaza political bureau in 2021 by backing veteran Hamas member Nizar Awadallah, who nearly defeated Yahya and was among the Hamas figures who survived Israel’s recent assassination attempt in Doha in September 2025 (Israel Hayom, September 9, 2025). After several rounds of voting, which Awadallah and Saad’s supporters claimed were manipulated by the Khan Younis-based “southern faction,” Yahya finally won. As seen in the October 7 operation, however, Saad and the Sinwar brothers saw eye to eye militarily and ideologically despite their contest for political power (ynetnews.com, October 5, 2025).

With Saad now eliminated, another longtime Hamas member is no longer active. This satisfied Israel’s desire for revenge and may make it more difficult for Hamas to reconstitute itself. Yet the question remains whether—or how many—Gazan youths will seek to follow his footsteps and become the “Raed Saad” of the next generation.