Ikrame Imane Kouachi
01 February 2025•Update: 01 February 2025
JERUSALEM / ANKARA
Israel acknowledged on Saturday that it failed in its attempt to assassinate Haitham Al-Hawajri, the commander of Hamas’s Al-Shati Battalion, despite claiming to have killed him in December 2023.
In a statement published by the Israel Hayom newspaper and Channel 12, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the Dec. 3, 2023 strike targeting Hawajri was initially believed to have been successful.
"Following the attack, Israel security agency Shin Bet and the military assessed with a high degree of certainty that he had been eliminated and the army issued an official statement confirming it," Hagari said.
However, he added: "Further examination has revealed that the intelligence relied upon by Shin Bet, military intelligence, and the Southern Command was incorrect. Hawajri was not killed in the attack."
Earlier in the day, Palestinian media reports indicated that Hawajri was the individual who personally handed over Israeli hostage Keith Siegel to the Red Cross, contradicting Israel’s previous claim that he had been assassinated.
Hamas released three Israeli captives — Yarden Bibas (35), Ofer Calderon (54), and Keith Siegel (64) — in the fourth prisoner-hostage swap under the ongoing ceasefire deal with Israel.
The Israeli side also began releasing Palestinian prisoners, and was expected to free 183 in total.
The three-phase ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, took hold on Jan. 19. The first phase will last 42 days.
Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 and reduced much of the area to rubble.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
