Hamas Warns Operatives After Reported Killing of Group’s No. 2: “Escalation Is Imminent”

A media channel identified with Hamas’s military wing issued a warning overnight urging the terror group’s operatives to exercise heightened caution, following reports that Ra’ad Sa’ad, described as the organization’s No. 2 figure, was targeted in an Israeli strike.

In a statement circulated by the channel, activists were told that “the coming hours may include escalation on the part of Israel,” and were instructed to maintain “maximum alertness and caution—particularly regarding movement, communications, and nighttime activity.”

According to a report on Mako, Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, claiming that an attack on a civilian vehicle in western Gaza City constituted a continuation of breaches of the truce reached under what it described as the Trump framework. Hamas said the incident “once again underscores Israel’s intention to deliberately undermine and sabotage the ceasefire agreement through escalating and ongoing violations.”

The terror group further asserted that the Israeli government bears “full responsibility for the consequences of its crimes against the Palestinian people and for violations of the ceasefire agreement, including harm to civilians, operatives, and leaders.” Hamas called on the mediators and guarantor states of the agreement to take responsibility for what it termed “blatant violations” and to act urgently to “restrain the Israeli government that seeks to undermine the agreement.”

Despite the sharp rhetoric, Hamas has so far refrained from directly addressing the fate of Ra’ad Sa’ad, maintaining a degree of ambiguity similar to its response in previous assassination attempts.

The Mako report also cited Ibrahim al-Madhoun, a commentator close to Hamas, who claimed that the attempted killing carries significant political implications beyond a routine security incident. “In my assessment, this comes in the context of Israel’s attempts to derail the agreement and prevent a transition to its second phase, or to impose new and dangerous rules of engagement that place everyone before extremely difficult choices,” he said.

While Israeli officials have reportedly stated that the assassination was successful, al-Madhoun cautioned against drawing conclusions at this stage. “It is still too early to speak about the success of the attempt,” he said, adding that the very attempt itself represents “a very dangerous development.”

He warned that if such actions go unanswered, they could open the door to a broad and systematic policy of targeted killings. According to al-Madhoun, this trajectory threatens the already fragile stability in the region and risks pushing the situation toward an escalation that could spiral out of control, claiming that “Israel appears to be deliberately heading in that direction.”

{Matzav.com}