Israel is sending Hamas a message that goes far beyond another targeted strike in Gaza: rebuilding the terror army that carried out October 7 will not be tolerated.
The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that Nael Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade and head of the organization’s military operations array, was eliminated in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF described Abu Obeid as a central figure in Hamas’s senior military leadership.
This was not simply the elimination of another field commander.
Abu Obeid had taken command of the Rafah Brigade after Israel eliminated his predecessor, Muhammad Shabana, in May 2025 in the same strike that killed senior Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar. Before becoming brigade commander, Abu Obeid had served as deputy commander and commanded the Tel al-Sultan and Yibna battalions.
According to the IDF, his mission was clear: rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities in Rafah and direct attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
And that is precisely why his elimination matters.
Hamas spent years building a military structure designed to survive Israeli operations. Commanders could be replaced. Battalions could be rebuilt. Tunnels could be reconstructed. Weapons could be replenished.
Israel now appears determined to prevent that cycle from simply beginning again.
The strike also follows the killing of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade commander and other senior Hamas figures in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz summarized the policy in one sentence: “No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza.”
That second half is the strategically important part.
October 7 demonstrated what happens when Israel allows a jihadist army to rebuild along its border after every round of fighting.
The lesson Israel is applying now is different: destroying Hamas cannot mean merely degrading its forces. It means preventing Hamas from rebuilding the command structure, military infrastructure and operational capacity that made October 7 possible.
The war ultimately ends not when Hamas stops firing temporarily, but when Hamas can no longer rebuild for the next one.