Gaza Mourns Hamas Commander Nael Abu Obeid After Israeli Strike
Hamas commander Nael Abu Obeid was killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis; mourners gathered in Rafah as strikes continue despite an October ceasefire.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday to bury Nael Abu Obeid, a commander of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. The group said in a statement that Abu Obeid, described as a commander of Rafah's Brigade, was killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis on Tuesday night.
His body, wrapped in a Hamas flag with an M16 rifle resting on top, was carried through the streets before mourners brought it into a room for a final farewell. Gunfire rang out as the procession moved, and crowds chanted religious slogans and pledges to continue the struggle. The burial followed prayers held in a yard and in a tent beside the body.
"Today, Rafah has the right to mourn this man as it has mourned others like him before," said Jomaa al-Ghoul, a resident of Gaza. "It is indeed a loss in this world, but we ask God to grant him a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth in the hereafter."
Another Rafah resident, Khaled Al Tawil, addressed the dead commander in remarks at the funeral, describing him as a fighter who was looked up to in childhood and asking God to have mercy on his son Muhammad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a statement praising the military strike that killed the Hamas commander.
The killing came amid a recent intensification of Israeli airstrikes, which have killed several Hamas militants, including two in separate strikes in Khan Younis and Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Wednesday, a damaged building in Gaza City that was housing about six displaced families collapsed, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 25, according to Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry. Among the dead were at least eight children and five women.
Although an October ceasefire has reduced fighting in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out strikes, killing at least 1,375 people since the agreement took effect, according to local health officials. The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 73,789 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of the toll.