Israel has claimed responsibility for the killing of Abu Obaida, the long-serving spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in an airstrike that devastated a residential block in Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighborhood on Saturday.

The strike killed and injured numerous civilians, including children, according to local health workers. Hamas has not confirmed his death, though Palestinian sources and activists have hinted at his possible martyrdom.

Witnesses described harrowing scenes after at least five missiles struck the apartment building. Journalists on the ground reported at least seven dead and 20 wounded, while some outlets put the toll higher.

Residents said the blasts hurled rubble and debris across the street as terrified families rushed to pull children from the wreckage. “I saw injured children with blood covering their faces,” Mohammed Emad, a barber who works nearby, told the BBC.

Israeli officials, including War Minister Israel Katz, hailed the raid as a “flawless operation,” crediting military intelligence and the Shin Bet. Palestinian sources, however, stressed that the real victims were the civilians whose homes were destroyed.

Abu Obaida, born Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout in 1985, emerged in 2002 as the masked voice of the al-Qassam Brigades. He was known for his defiant televised statements and for announcing key operations such as the 2006 detention of Gilad Shalit and the 2014 recovery of Oron Shaul’s remains.

A graduate of the Islamic University of Gaza, he became the central figure in the group’s media campaign, often articulating the determination of Palestinians to resist occupation.

Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people and wounded over 159,000 according to Gaza health authorities, the majority of them women and children.

Even if Israel’s claim proves true, Abu Obaida’s legacy as the steadfast voice of the resistance appears likely to endure among Palestinians, many of whom view such sacrifices as part of a generational struggle for freedom.

Despite repeated assassinations of senior figures, Palestinian resistance movements have continued to operate, often stressing that martyrdom only strengthens their cause.