Who Is Marwan Issa, the ‘Shadow Man’, Al-Qassam Brigade’s No. 2?

Marwan Issa is seen among prisoners released in a swap for Gilad Shalit. (BBC file photo)
Marwan Issa is seen among prisoners released in a swap for Gilad Shalit. (BBC file photo)
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Who Is Marwan Issa, the ‘Shadow Man’, Al-Qassam Brigade’s No. 2?

Marwan Issa is seen among prisoners released in a swap for Gilad Shalit. (BBC file photo)
Marwan Issa is seen among prisoners released in a swap for Gilad Shalit. (BBC file photo)

The Israeli army and Hamas are trying to determine whether Marwan Issa, deputy head of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the Palestinian movement’s military wing, was actually killed in an air strike in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday night.

Israel’s Channel 12 said: “Three days after the unusually strong attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip, Israel still does not know for sure whether Issa was killed.”

Hamas, which has not yet commented on the report, is facing difficulties to communicate and verify any information, in light of the massive destruction caused by the strike.

Issa is the most important figure to be targeted since the beginning of the war. He is considered the No. 3 on the Israel’s Hamas wanted list, after Muhammad al-Deif, the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, and Yahya al-Sanwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza. Saleh Al-Arouri, the fourth on the list, was assassinated by Israel in Lebanon in January.

Marwan Abdel Karim Issa was born in 1965 in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza. He grew up in the camp and received his education in UNRWA schools, before receiving his university education at the Islamic University. He was a distinguished athlete and excelled in playing basketball in the camp services club.

Issa belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood in his early youth, shortly before the announcement of the founding of the Hamas movement, which he later joined.

He was arrested by Israeli forces in 1987 and was released in 1993. He continued to suffer from Israeli persecution, until he was arrested in 1997 by the Palestinian security services. He was freed with the eruption of the second Al-Aqsa Intifada at the end of 2000.

He engaged in the Hamas movement and Al-Qassam Brigades, until he became a prominent military figure. He was later appointed commander of the Central Region Brigade before becoming a member of the Military Council and then secretary of the council, until he reached his current position, deputy commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, following the assassination of Ahmed Al-Jaabari in 2012.

Issa survived numerous assassination attempts and had been fighting cancer for many years.

His health had deteriorated and persistent attempts were made before the October 7 war to take him out of the Gaza Strip in order to receive treatment.



Iraq Treads a Tightrope to Avoid Spillover from Israel-Iran Conflict 

Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq Treads a Tightrope to Avoid Spillover from Israel-Iran Conflict 

Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)
Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP)

In Iraqi airspace, Iranian missiles and drones have crossed paths with Israeli warplanes, forcing Baghdad to step up efforts to avoid being drawn into the region's latest conflict.

But with Baghdad both an ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States, Israel's closest supporter, it may struggle to avoid the fighting spreading to its territory.

"There is a sizable risk of a spillover escalation in Iraq," said political analyst Sajad Jiyad.

"Iraqis have a right to be worried," he added.

With warnings of all-out regional war intensifying following Israel's surprise assault on Iran last week, fears are growing over an intervention by Iran-backed Iraqi factions, which have been calling for the withdrawal of US troops deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-ISIS coalition.

A senior Iraqi security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that among pro-Iran actors "everyone is cooperating with the government to keep Iraq away from conflict."

But Jiyad warned that if the US supports Israel's attacks, it "may lead to pro-Iran elements inside Iraq targeting US troops" or other American interests like the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region.

This could lead to the US and Israel taking retaliatory actions within Iraq, Jiyad added.

Iraq, which has been for years navigating a delicate balancing act between Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.

In 2020, during US President Donald Trump's first term, Washington killed Iran's esteemed Revolutionary Guards General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Most recently, amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraq was on the brink of being drawn into the conflict after pro-Iran factions launched numerous attacks on US troops in the region, as well as mostly failed attacks on Israel, in support of Palestinians.

Washington retaliated by hitting the armed groups.

In recent days, Baghdad has been working diplomatic channels to prevent the latest violence from spreading onto its turf.

It has called on Washington to prevent Israeli jets from using Iraqi airspace to carry out attacks against Iran.

It also asked Iran not to strike US targets in its territory, and was promised "positive things", according to a senior Iraqi official.

Israel's use of Iraq's airspace has angered pro-Iran groups, who accused US troops of allowing it.

Powerful armed faction Kataib Hezbollah stressed that Iran does not need "military support", but it said that the group is "closely monitoring" the US military in the region.

It warned that if Washington intervenes in the war, the group "will act directly against its interests and bases in the region without hesitation."

A US official urged the Iraqi government to "protect diplomatic missions, as well as US military personnel."

"We believe Iraq will be more stable and sovereign by becoming energy independent and distancing itself from Iran's malign influence," the official told AFP, referring to Iraq's dependency on gas imports from Iran.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that Iran-backed groups "continue to engage in violent and destabilizing activities in Iraq."

Israel's surprise attack on Iran targeted military and nuclear facilities and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists. Iran responded by unleashing barrages of missile strikes on Israel.

Tamer Badawi, an expert on Iraqi armed groups, said "the more Iran struggles to sustain its firepower against Israel, the likelier it becomes that Iraqi paramilitary actors will be drawn in."

For now, "Iran is trying to avoid collateral damage to its network by keeping its regional allies on standby. But this posture could shift," he added.

Before launching its attack on Iran, Israel had badly hit Tehran's proxies in the region, significantly weakening some groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"Beyond attacks within Iraq, Iran-backed Iraqi groups retain the capacity to target Israel from western Iraq using their missile arsenals, as they have done before," Badawi said.

They might also target American interests in Jordan.

But Iraqi officials say they have other plans for their country, which has only recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of devastating conflicts and turmoil.

Iraq is gearing up for its legislative elections in November, which are often marked by heated political wrangling.

For armed groups, elections are a crucial battleground as they strive to secure more seats in parliament.

"Sometimes, the sword must be kept in the sheath, but this does not mean abandoning our weapons," a commander of an armed faction told AFP.

The armed groups will not leave Iran, their "godfather... in the battle alone."