Hamas vowed not to disarm after confirming the deaths of five of its senior leaders, complicating President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
In a statement, Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades announced the deaths of five prominent leaders, including two of its most famous. Among those killed was Mohammed al Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya al Sinwar, and the face of Hamas: Abu Obeida, the al Qassam Brigades spokesman. His real name was revealed to be Hudhayfa Samir Abdullah al Kahlout. He was the first spokesman of Hamas’s militant wing, serving as its face since 2005.
Kahlout’s face was also shown for the first time — during all his many announcements, he was always seen with his face obscured by a checkered scarf and the group’s distinctive green headband.
The video announcing Kahlout’s death, released by Hamas, appeared to be generated via artificial intelligence, showing people around the world watching his videos, including a Hamas member in New York City’s Times Square watching his videos on a giant billboard. The video culminated in thousands of Kahlout clones marching through a ruined Gaza up to a line of scared-looking Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
The others killed were identified as Muhammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade of the al Qassam Brigades; Hakam al Issa, commander of the Weapons and Combat Services Branch; and Raed Saad, commander of the Military Manufacturing Branch.
Issa was one of the founders of the al Qassam Brigades, while Shabana was believed by Israeli intelligence to be one of the chief architects of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack that launched the war in Gaza.
Though the five deaths were all announced at once, no timeline was given regarding their deaths. Israeli intelligence believes each was killed in airstrikes throughout 2025. Israeli intelligence reported Kahlout’s death as occurring in an Aug. 31 airstrike.
Kahlout’s death was announced by his successor, who said he would be inheriting the “Abu Obeida” nom de guerre. In his inaugural address, the new al Qassam Brigades spokesman said Hamas wouldn’t disarm.
“Our people defend themselves and will not abandon their weapons as long as the occupation remains, and will not surrender even if they fight with their fingernails,” he said, adding that the group had a “right to respond to Israel’s crimes.”
The new Obeida also said the Oct. 7, 2023, attack was a “resounding explosion in the face of injustice, oppression, siege, and all forms of aggression against al-Aqsa and our people – aggression which crossed all red lines, ignored all calls and warnings, and threw all agreements to the wind.”
Around 1,200 Israelis were killed in the war’s opening assault, most of them civilians.
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The new announcement may bring further complications for Hamas, coming as Trump warned the group of harsh consequences if it didn’t lay down its weapons as stipulated as part of his multi-phase Gaza peace plan.
“There will be hell to pay,” he warned on Monday, when asked what would happen if Hamas failed to disarm, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.