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IDF strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza
Israel attempted to eliminate Marwan Issa, third in line in the order of importance in the terror group's command and a deputy to Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hama's military wing. According to reports, Israel conducted extensive strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight Saturday, where Issa was presumed to be hiding. The attacks came amid cuts to electric power and internet connections.
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Israeli defense officials would not respond to the reports but sources said they were optimistic that he died in the strike and were awaiting the post operation report.
Issa, 59 had rarely appeared in public events even before the war and, because of physical disability of the Hamas military wing commander caused by several Israeli assassination attempts, was considered to have been his de facto replacement.
Issa is said to have been responsible for communications between the military and political wings of the terror group since 2012, a position that comes with significant power in both wings.
Because he remained out of public view, he was dubbed a "shadow man," and thought of as lacking the aura that surrounds his boss. Israel had made attempts on his life in the past including an attack on Deif and other military commanders in 2006 and 2014, and in 2021 his home was bombed twice, killing his brother in one of those attempts.
The IDF Arabic Language spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee in January published images of Issa's luxurious vacation home after an IDF raid of the property.
The images showed a swimming pool, a large yard and expensive furnishings.
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Vacation home belonging to Marwan Issa in Gaza
His son was killed in an air strike in December and another son died a year earlier from a disease.