Overview
- Hamas confirmed Raad Saad’s death, described him as its military manufacturing chief, and said a successor has been appointed.
- Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the strike after a device wounded soldiers, calling Saad an Oct. 7 architect and rearmament leader.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reports more than 70,600 Palestinians killed since 2023 and over 390 deaths since the October ceasefire began.
- Thousands attended a public funeral for Saad in Gaza City, reflecting Hamas’s continued presence in the enclave’s west as Israel holds the east.
- U.S. focus intensified, with CENTCOM convening partner nations in Doha on Dec. 16 to plan a potential stabilization force, and U.S. media reported a private White House rebuke over the strike.