Senior Hamas commander appears on video despite Israeli claim he was killed

According to Palestinian media outlet Arab48, Hamas commander Hussein Fayyad has appeared in a newly surfaced video. The Israeli military had previously claimed that Fayyad was killed last May. The emergence of this video has raised questions about the Israeli military's previous statements.

The video, widely circulated on social media on Wednesday, shows a man resembling Fayyad speaking at a funeral in northern Gaza. He is standing amidst the rubble of a destroyed building, with a group of men listening. Fayyad is the commander of Hamas' Beit Hanoun Battalion, an area that was among the first targets of Israeli attacks in 2023.

In his speech, Fayyad praised Gaza's resistance to Israeli military attacks. He stated, "When the strong fails to achieve its goals, it is a failure, and when the weak prevents the strong from achieving its goals, it is the victor." He also deemed Israel's offensive futile, saying, "Thanks to God, the Israeli army only got stones, body parts, and blood." He emphasized that Gaza remains resilient, "Gaza has become impregnable. We all saw yesterday how Gaza stood tall and achieved victory."

The Israeli military has acknowledged that its claim of killing the Hamas commander in May was based on flawed intelligence. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the Israeli military admitted on Wednesday night that the investigation results were "not accurate enough," and his death was only "highly likely." Israel had previously claimed that Fayyad was a senior commander in Hamas' Qassam Brigades and was killed in an underground operation in a tunnel in Jabalia.

The Israeli military's statement at the time said, "As part of the IDF's operation in the Jabalia area, special forces of the Israeli Air Force and the 'Yahalom' unit eliminated the terrorist Hussein Fayyad, commander of the Hamas Beit Hanoun Battalion, in a special operation in an underground area." The statement also noted that he was responsible for coordinating anti-tank missile launches towards Israeli territory and mortar attacks on "Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip." Fayyad's reappearance has raised questions about Israel's credibility and its battlefield claims.

The Times of Israel pointed out that this is not the first time Israel has mistakenly claimed to have killed a key figure. According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli army has encountered difficulties in confronting the Hamas Beit Hanoun Battalion. The Israeli military initially considered the battalion to be one of Hamas' weaker armed forces, but it has proven to be very strong. Israeli reports state that the Hamas Beit Hanoun Battalion adapted to the battlefield and began engaging in guerrilla warfare, causing several Israeli soldiers to be injured and killed in January 2025 alone.