The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed one of late Hamas political chief Yahya al-Sinwar’s bodyguards in a strike in Khan Younis on Monday.
It identified him as Rizq Suhail Abu Shahma, a member of the Nukhba Force, an elite unit of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing. The military said he took part in the raid on the Re’im military base during the October 7, 2023, attack.
In a statement also announcing the killing of another Nukhba operative, the military accused Abu Shahma of advancing plans against Israeli forces and trying to rebuild Hamas’ capabilities in what it called a systematic breach of the ceasefire. It said the strike was carried out to eliminate the threat.
Hamas field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abu Shahma was from the al-Muaskar area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and served as a company commander in the Nukhba Force, which was responsible for Sinwar’s security.
The sources said Abu Shahma took part in the October 2023 attack and in abducting Israelis, some of whom he held for a short period.
Several people who rotated as Sinwar’s guards have since been killed in Israeli operations, the sources said, either in direct strikes, in public places or while carrying out attacks alongside other Qassam fighters.
Not all of the guards were from Khan Younis, where Sinwar lived. Some came from other areas, including Rafah.
“Sinwar consistently preferred to be accompanied by well-trained members of the Nukhba Force, unlike other leaders who were guarded by members of the Security and Protection Department within Hamas’ General Security Service,” one source said.
Other Hamas sources, however, said Sinwar’s permanent guards - those who accompanied him continuously and whom he did not replace - came from his innermost family circle. Among them was his nephew, Ibrahim Mohammed Sinwar, who was killed while accompanying his uncle during the Gaza war.
Sinwar was killed in an unexpected clash with Israeli soldiers in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in October 2024.
Factions fear a surge in targeted killings
Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip fear Israel will step up its airstrikes in the coming period to kill as many senior commanders and prominent field operatives from their armed wings as possible.
Israel killed Hamas operative Azzam al-Abadla in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis on Thursday afternoon. Another person was critically wounded in a strike targeting him in Gaza City’s al-Shati refugee camp.
Armed wings, including the Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, have issued directives to their commanders and operatives warning that Israel intends to escalate targeted killings, particularly as parliamentary elections approach in October.
The directives came before Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had ordered his forces to intensify targeted killings in Gaza. Security officials, meanwhile, warned against dragging the military into unnecessary fighting because of the elections.
Zamir had visited Israeli forces in Gaza and said the military would continue its operations until the territory was fully disarmed and everyone who took part in the October 7, 2023, attack was eliminated.
Two field sources from Palestinian factions told Asharq Al-Awsat that the directives instructed commanders and operatives to change locations and move to safe places without using communications devices.
They were told to move covertly and avoid contacting anyone in their close circles who might be under Israeli intelligence surveillance.
The sources said the directives warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not intend to approve any agreement for a complete ceasefire and would instead escalate targeted killings in the run-up to the elections.
Israel could launch major operations lasting several days, carry out multiple killings in a single day, or strike several targets simultaneously, the directives said.
The sources said Israel had used such tactics repeatedly, particularly when it breached truces during the war.
“Palestinian blood, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, has always served as fuel for any Israeli government seeking to save itself,” a Hamas political source in Gaza told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.
Netanyahu was among the Israeli figures who had most consistently pursued that approach, the source added.
The source expressed little confidence that the situation would change or that Israeli ceasefire violations would end after the Israeli elections, regardless of whether Netanyahu or someone else won.
