CAIRO, March 27. /TASS/. Palestine’s radical movement Hamas did not confirm reports that deputy commander of Hamas’ armed wing Marwan Issa, number three in the Hamas hierarchy, has been killed in the Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesman Izzat al-Rishq said.

"We have no trust in the Israeli military’s claims about the alleged death of Marwan Issa. Commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades [the militant wing of Hamas] have the final say on the issue," the spokesman wrote on his Telegram channel.

In his opinion, the Israeli government has been disseminating this information to turn the public attention away from the Israeli government’s problems and conceal "the Israeli military’s inability to achieve their goals."

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday the Israeli intelligence jad confirmed Marwan Issa’s death. Hagari recalled that Issa was a deputy of Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif.

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.