Sinwar ally Rawhi Mushtaha killed three months ago, Israel says

Rahwi Mushtaha, a senior Hamas leader and right-hand man to Yahya Sinwar, was allegedly killed in a joint operation by the Israeli military and intelligence services three months ago, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

The army and Shin Bet’ claim that Mushtaha was killed in a targeted strike along with Sameh al-Sarraj, who held the security portfolio in Hamas’s political bureau, and Sami Odeh, the head of Hamas' general security mechanism.

The two entities said fighter jets attacked tunnels where the officials were based in northern Gaza.

The Hamas senior figures allegedly "hid inside an underground, fortified and equipped tunnel which allowed them to command and control personnel to stay there for an extended period of time".

The tunnel complex was managed by Hamas General Security Service officials in a bid to provide "a special residence" for the groups' leading members, headed by Mushtaha.

Mushtaha was described as one of Sinwar's closest associates, and was imprisoned by Israel following his arrest in 1988. Both men served time in Israeli prisons, and were released in 2011 during the Wafa al-Ahrar (Gilad Shalit) prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel.

The two established Hamas’s security mechanism, the Israeli army said.

Mushtaha was first elected as a member of Hamas' politburo in 2012 and was considered its most prominent figure in until the outbreak of the Israel's latest war on Gaza in October. He also helped co-found the Palestinian group's armed-wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

He acted as the head of the Palestinian group’s civil governance in the Gaza Strip and held the prisoner affairs portfolio. He was also in charge of the group's finance portfolio, the army said.

Hamas is yet to issue a statement on the matter.

Mushtaha's death deals another major blow for the Palestinian group, who have lost several prominent figures, including politburo chairman Ismail Haniyeh and his deputy Saleh al-Arouri.

Other senior members have also been killed, including Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza.

Mohammed Deif, the head of the Al-Qassam Brigades, was also reportedly killed in an airstrike July, which Hamas denied. In September, unverified reports also emerged claiming that Sinwar had been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.

The Israeli military, however, later assessed that the Gaza Strip's top leader remains alive.

Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, ongoing for almost a year, has devestated the Palestinian enclave, killing at least 41,802 Palestinians as of Friday. Under Israeli siege, Gaza has also been ravaged by the spread of disease and a severe lack of food, fuel and water.