In a dramatic escalation of ongoing tensions in the Gaza Strip, Israel announced on Saturday, December 13, 2025, that it had killed Raad Saad, the head of weapons production in Hamas’s military wing, in a targeted airstrike southwest of Gaza City. The operation, conducted in the Tel al-Hawa district, also resulted in the deaths of four additional individuals and left more than 25 wounded, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency and medical sources cited by AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement shortly after the strike, asserting that the killing of Saad was in direct response to an earlier incident that same day: “In response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the Yellow Area of the Gaza Strip... (they) instructed the elimination of the terrorist Raad Saad.” The Israeli military reported that two reserve soldiers were lightly injured by the device during an operation to clear the area of what they termed “terrorist infrastructure” in southern Gaza.
Saad, described by Israeli officials as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel—a day that marked the beginning of the latest war in Gaza—was said to have led Hamas’s weapons production and the group’s broader military build-up. Family sources confirmed his death to AFP, with funeral arrangements scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 2025.
Hamas, for its part, confirmed Saad’s death the following day. In a statement, the group described him as the commander of its military manufacturing unit. According to The Associated Press, Hamas also announced it had appointed a new commander to replace Saad, though it withheld further details. The group’s statement characterized the vehicle hit in the strike as a civilian one, a claim echoed by witnesses on the ground and Gaza civil defence officials.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence—operating under Hamas authority—told AFP that “five people were killed after a civilian jeep-type vehicle was targeted near the Nabulsi roundabout in Tel al-Hawa.” He described the aftermath in grim detail: “The charred bodies were taken to Al-Shifa hospital after Israeli warplanes targeted the civilian vehicle with three missiles, causing it to burn and its destruction.” Emergency staff at Al-Shifa confirmed the arrival of the bodies and reported more than 25 injuries from the strike. AFP footage captured the devastation: a mangled, burnt-out car, debris scattered across the street, and residents rushing to extinguish the flames.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and horror. One local, who declined to give his name for security reasons, recounted, “Warplanes fired several missiles at the vehicle, setting it ablaze. Residents rushed to extinguish the fire, and charred body parts were scattered on the ground.” Another resident, living in a tent nearby, said he saw several Hamas members arrive at the site in the immediate aftermath.
In addition to the main strike, Gaza’s civil defence reported that a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old youth were killed by Israeli fire in separate incidents elsewhere in the territory that same day. The situation remains volatile, with both sides accusing each other of violating the fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, 2025. Despite the agreement, Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 391 Palestinians since the truce was established, according to Palestinian health officials cited by The Associated Press. Israel maintains that its recent strikes are in retaliation for ongoing militant attacks against its soldiers and that troops have fired on Palestinians approaching the so-called “Yellow Line”—the de facto border now dividing the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza from the remainder of the territory.
This “Yellow Line,” as articulated by Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on December 14, 2025, is more than just a military demarcation; it represents a significant shift in Israel’s long-term strategy toward Gaza. Zamir’s statement that the Yellow Line will serve as Israel’s new border enshrines a decades-old policy of demographic and territorial engineering. According to reporting from multiple outlets, including detailed analysis of Israeli policy history, the Yellow Line divides Gaza into two distinct areas: one under Israeli control—comprising roughly 53% of the territory—where Palestinians may be relocated after security vetting but are not permitted to leave, and a second area under international control, which receives only minimal aid and no reconstruction.
Plans for a “new Gaza” under Israeli control are reportedly underway, with recent weeks seeing the expansion of the Yellow Line deeper into Gazan territory. This has raised alarm among rights groups and international observers. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had previously proposed concentrating Palestinians in a so-called “humanitarian city” built over the ruins of Rafah, a plan widely condemned as resembling a concentration camp. Katz even established a special bureau to facilitate the “transfer” of Palestinians out of Gaza during the war, fueling fears of forced or “voluntary” emigration—a policy with historical antecedents dating back to the 1950s and 1970s, when Israel devised plans to relocate Palestinians into the Egyptian Sinai desert.
These demographic strategies are not new. As detailed in historical records and declassified documents, Israel’s approach to Gaza and the West Bank has long involved attempts to “thin out” the Palestinian population through land control, forced movement, and the creation of new administrative borders. The current division of Gaza along the Yellow Line, coupled with the construction of tightly controlled residential blocks for displaced Palestinians, is viewed by many as a continuation of this demographic engineering.
The international dimension to these plans is significant. The United States, under President Trump, has backed a ceasefire plan that, while officially calling for a full Israeli withdrawal at the end of its second phase, leaves enough ambiguity for Israel to advance its own territorial and demographic objectives. Details of the so-called “Trump Riviera” plan, leaked in September 2025, revealed proposals to offer Gazans $5,000 relocation packages and to rebuild parts of Gaza as a resort area. U.S. officials have stated that Palestinians who relocate to the Israeli-controlled area would not be permitted to leave, and that no aid would be delivered to areas still under Hamas control.
Meanwhile, the human cost of the conflict continues to mount. The initial Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023 killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. According to the territory’s Health Ministry, which is staffed by medical professionals and regarded as generally reliable by the international community, more than 70,660 Palestinians have died in Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza—roughly half of them women and children. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its tally, but the scale of loss is undeniable.
As the fragile ceasefire holds—barely—Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, as a precondition for moving to the next phase of the agreement. This next phase envisions the end of Hamas rule and the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision. Yet, with both sides trading accusations of ceasefire violations and the underlying issues of borders, population, and sovereignty unresolved, the path forward remains fraught with uncertainty.
The events of these recent days underscore the enduring complexity and volatility of the Gaza conflict, shaped by decades of history, shifting policies, and the persistent realities of war and displacement. For the people of Gaza, the struggle for security, dignity, and a place to call home continues amid the ongoing reshaping of their land and lives.
