Abd al-Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for the terrorist organization and a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, was killed in an Israeli Air Force strike on a tent where he was staying in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, according to a report late Wednesday by the Qatari network Al Jazeera.
Al-Qanou was one of the terrorist organization's spokespersons in the Gaza Strip and was considered close to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was also eliminated by the IDF. The report also cited additional Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza and around Khan Younis.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel has been systematically eliminating senior Hamas officials, significantly weakening the group's grip on power in the strip. The ongoing wave of targeted strikes has led to the elimination of key figures in Hamas's administration, internal security apparatus, and military wing, undermining its leadership structure.
Almost all members of Hamas's political bureau who remained in Gaza and were not abroad have been killed. These include Essam al-Daalis, Ismail Barhoum, Salah al-Bardawil, Yasser Harb and Muhammad al-Jamassi.
In addition, Israel has targeted senior officials in Hamas's internal security forces and its military wing. According to data from the Institute for National Security Studies, the Israel Defense Forces have killed approximately 17,000 terrorists in Gaza since the war began, destroyed about 90% of Hamas's rocket arsenal, and eliminated roughly 40% of its tunnel network. To date, eight Hamas brigade-level commanders, 30 battalion-level commanders and 165 company-level commanders have been killed.
