IDF: Abu Obeida still alive, thousands of Hamas terrorists killed

Israel announced on Sunday the identities of a number of Hamas officials that IDF forces have killed in Gaza. According to IDF figures, more than 3,500 targets have been attacked in Gaza since the temporary ceasefire with Hamas ended on December 1, and over 22,000 targets have been attacked since the war began on October 7, with Hamas's attack on Israel.

Fighting resumed this month when Hamas fired a round of rockets into Israel, ending a week of relative quiet, as Hamas released 105 hostages, Israeli women and children as well as foreign nationals, out of the estimated 240 people it took captive during its attack on October 7. As part of the deal, Israel released 230 Palestinian prisoners suspected or convicted of security offenses. 

The IDF said that about 7,000 terrorists had been killed in the two northernmost governorates of Gaza. The Hamas-governed Health Ministry in Gaza says that about 18,000 Palestinians total have been killed since the war began. 

Hamas spokesman releases statement, after rumors he'd been killed

Having focused on the north of the strip during the first phase of the war, IDF soldiers are pushing south, operating in a number of Hamas strongholds, including Jabalya, Shejaia, Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis.

IDF ground, air and naval troops continue operations targeting and eliminating terrorists, their commanders and any Hamas operatives until we meet our goals—to eliminate Hamas and bring the hostages home. pic.twitter.com/P4tCtu1YBs

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 10, 2023

Absent from the list of those killed is Abu Obeida, Hamas's spokesman, who was reported killed or seriously wounded in an IDF attack in Sujaiya last week. Obeida, who had not been heard from publicly since the end of November, issued a recorded statement, in which he declared that "the temporary truce proved our credibility" and that "none of the enemy's prisoners left, and none will leave, except on our terms."