Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, was killed in an aerial attack in Gaza City, Israel claimed on Monday.
Taking to X, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel's security agency, Shin Bet, for the "flawless execution."
The death has not been confirmed by Hamas.
The armed group, however, has said dozens of civilians were killed and injured in Israeli air strikes on a residential building in Gaza.
According to local media, seven people were killed and 20 injured in the strikes on the densely populated al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, with children among the casualties.
For Israel, the death of Abu Obeida may be seen as a massive blow for Hamas' cause.
But who is this Abu Obeida?
Man in shadows
For long, the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas – has been considered the largest and best-equipped militant organisation operating within the Gaza Strip in recent years.
The group was formed sometime in the late 80s and has claimed credit for a number of attacks on Israel.
Abu Obeida served as the spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades since at least 2004, when he is reported to have made his first appearance.
He was described as "the central figure of al-Qassam's media campaign."
Over time, Abu Obeida became known as one of Hamas' best-known operatives in the Arab world.
He has often appeared in videos of Hamas, his masked face warning Israel with dire consequences.
On 29 August this year, he again came into the spotlight after threatening Israel that it would "pay the price" with "its soldiers' blood" for its planned invasion of Gaza City.
He was also seen claiming credit for the 7 October attacks, adding that they had been in the works since at least 2021.
His role in announcing the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 cemented his prominence and established him as the primary voice of the organisation, according to different reports.
His masked face isn't just a random choice: it's by design.
Abu Obeida is considered a paradox of modern warfare: a man whose global fame rests on the meticulous concealment of his identity.
For over a decade, he has operated as the mysterious "Man in the Mask."
He appears in military fatigues with his face obscured by a red keffiyeh, a visual signature that has transformed a single individual into a symbolic vessel for the entire Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
But Obeida's role isn't limited to ominous appearances.
He is also considered the primary architect of the group's narrative strategy, a master of psychological warfare.
The persona he created – one almost omniscient – was, thus, also a carefully crafted one.
Ghost in the system
As with many such figures draped in aura, Abu Obeida, too, revelled in his anonymity.
Scant information is available on Hamas' top man – a figure that Hamas denies even exists.
According to Israeli and American sources, his real name is Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout.
Media reports, mostly emerging from the US, claim that Abu was born on 11 February 1985 in Gaza.
The same sources note that his family was expelled from Ni'ilya, a village near Ashkelon, by Zionist militias during the 1948 Palestine War.
These bits of information are to be taken with a grain of salt.
Western media, after all, has never been honest about its enemies.
An evidence perhaps of his existence is the US sanction on him in April 2024, naming him as Hamas's "information warfare chief."
Embellishing his narrative further are claims that he graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza with a master's degree in Islamic studies in 2013.
Rise to power
Abu Obeida functions as the "narrative force multiplier" for Al-Qassam's actions.
Military actions, such as the kidnapping of a soldier, are inherently limited in their physical scope and direct impact.
However, by having a designated spokesman immediately translate the tactical event into a strategic message, the action's psychological and political impact is amplified exponentially.
For instance, he announced the capture of another soldier, Oron Shaul, during the 2014 Gaza War, and issued a warning during the 2021 conflict that striking major Israeli cities was "easier for us than drinking water."
Abu Obeida's discourse is consistently rooted in religious and ideological frameworks, positioning the conflict not as a simple territorial dispute but as a cosmic, moral struggle.
He frames armed resistance as a legitimate response to what he describes as a "colonial," "fascist," and "genocidal" "Zionist occupation," supported by "Zionists in the White House."
Abu is also credited with the formation of Al Aqsa TV, another way Hamas penetrated the digital world.
If Abu ever existed, and is indeed dead, this will deal a blow to Hamas.
But if he never existed, then how his next appearance plays out may result in a psychological blow to Israel's forces.
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