TEL AVIV, March 26. /TASS/. Israeli intelligence confirms reports that deputy commander of Hamas’ armed wing Marwan Issa, number three in the Hamas hierarchy, has been killed in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

"After verifying intelligence data and being 100% sure, we are saying today, citing data from the General Security Service and Military Intelligence Directorate, that Marwan Issa was killed as a result of our attack two weeks ago, along with Razi Abu Tamaa," he said.

Hagari recalled that Issa was a deputy of Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif. "He was Hamas’ number three, one of those who plotted the October 7 [2023] massacre," he said, adding that Issa and Abu Tamaa, another high-ranking Hamas official, were killed as a result of a "pinpoint attack based on intelligence data."

"We will continue our efforts to find and eliminate all Hamas leaders," the IDF spokesman stressed.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.