
Palestinian Arab media published footage on Wednesday showing Hamas Beit Hanoun Battalion Commander Hussein Fiad, who the IDF claimed to have eliminated last May.
In the footage, the terrorist is seen walking among the rubble of Beit Hanoun as he speaks of Hamas's "victory" in Gaza. "When the strong doesn't achieve its goals, it is defeated; but the weak, which prevented the strong from achieving its goals - it is the victor," he claimed.
A similar incident occurred with the commander of the Tel a-Sultan Battalion in Rafah, Mahmoud Hamdan, who according to an IDF announcement was eliminated, but was later found to be alive and accompanying Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
After Fiad's supposed elimination, the IDF stated that he "was responsible for launching a significant number of the anti-tank missiles that were fired at Israeli territory throughout the war, along with extensive mortar fire toward Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip," and was eliminated "during special operational activity in an underground area."
The IDF responded to Wednesday’s publication, stating there was an identification error.
"The terrorist Hussein Fiad is a commander of Hamas' Beit Hanoun Battalion, who was responsible for the firing of many anti-tank missiles into Israeli territory during the war, as well as numerous mortar attacks on the communities in the northern Gaza envelope. Several months ago, the terrorist was attacked, and it was determined with high probability by the IDF and the Shin Bet that he had been eliminated, following which the IDF Spokesperson released a statement on the matter.”
“Upon further investigation, it was found that the intelligence upon which the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet had based their assessment was not accurate enough," the IDF stated.