Marwan Issa, the third-in-command of Hamas, was killed last week during an Israeli military operation in Gaza, the White House announced.

“Marwan Issa was killed during an Israeli operation last week,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press conference.

Marwan Issa, 58 or 59, was the second-in-command of Mohammed Deir, the commander of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. One of Israel’s most wanted Hamas operatives, one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attack on Israel, Marwan Issa is the most senior member of the Hamas leadership to be killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on March 11 that Marwan Issa and another Hamas official were targeted by an Israeli airstrike on an underground hideout in central Gaza.