Members of Hamas confirmed Ahmed al-Ghandour, the commander of the terrorist organization’s North Gaza brigade, has died during the war, according to reports.
“Al Ghandour (Abu Anas) is the member of the military council and the commander of the North Brigade,” Al Qassam Brigades wrote in a statement published on their Telegram channel, according to Reuters.
It is unclear if Al Ghandour was killed during the truce between Israel and Hamas, which is now entering its third day on Sunday.
Ghandour — whose nom de guerre was Abu Anas — was listed by the US in 2017 as a “specially designated global terrorist”, putting him on an economic sanctions blacklist.
The State Department described him as a former member of Hamas’ Shura council and member of its political bureau.
Ghandour “has been involved in many terrorist operations,” it said, including a 2006 attack on an Israeli military outpost at the Kerem Shalom border crossing which left two Israeli soldiers dead and four wounded.
That attack resulted in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas for five years before he was freed in 2011 in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
The announcement came on the third day of a four-day pause in fighting in Gaza which began on October 7 when Hamas terrorist stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and snatching around 240 others, according to Israeli authorities.