Hamas says Israel's killing of senior commander threatens ceasefire

Israel's assassination of a senior Hamas commander threatens the viability of the ceasefire in Gaza, the chief negotiator of the militant group said on Sunday, calling on US President Donald Trump to demand Israel comply with the terms of the truce.

Thousands of Hamas supporters rallied in central Gaza City at a funeral for senior commander Raed Saed and three associates killed alongside him on Saturday.

The mourners chanted "Martyrs are dear to God" and carried the bodies in coffins draped in green Hamas flags, in one of the group's biggest displays of its presence since a US-backed ceasefire deal came into effect in Gaza in October.

In a televised address, Khalil al-Hayya, who lives in exile, confirmed the killing of Saed, the highest-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since the truce.

"The continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement...and latest assassinations that targeted Saed and others threaten the viability of the agreement," Hayya said.

"We call on mediators, and especially the main guarantor, the US administration and President Donald Trump, to work on obliging Israel to respect the ceasefire and commit to it."

ISRAELI FORCES HOLD HALF OF GAZA

Hamas sources have described Saed as the second-in-command of the group's armed wing, after Izzeldeen Al-Hadad. Israel says Saed was one of the key architects of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Hamas has not identified an overall chief since Israel killed the group's head, Yehya Al-Sinwar, in 2024. Instead, the group has since been led by a five-man high leadership council, of which Hayya is a member.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces remain in control of the depopulated eastern half of Gaza, while the militant group has reasserted its control over the western half, where nearly all of the enclave's more than 2 million people live in the ruins.

The warring sides have yet to agree on next steps. Israel demands Hamas disarm and be barred from any future administration of Gaza. Hamas says it will not give up its arms and wants Israeli forces to withdraw fully.

The agreement calls for a UN-authorised International Stabilization Force to help keep peace. Hayya said its role should be restricted to separating the sides on Gaza's border, outside the territory.

The US Central Command, which oversees US military forces in the Middle East, will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, US officials told Reuters.

In the Central Gaza Strip, gunmen shot dead Ahmed Zamzam, a senior officer in a Hamas-run internal security service tasked with fighting collaboration with Israel. The Gaza Interior Ministry described the attackers as "collaborators acting upon Israeli orders" and said one suspect was detained.

Reuters could not independently authenticate the report. The Israeli military did not comment.