Months before the reported death of Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas), his last public address has resurfaced. Abu Obeida, whose real name was revealed today as Huthaifa Samir Abdullah al-Kahlout, delivered a video message on July 18, 2025, addressing the ongoing conflict, resistance strategy, and negotiation efforts.
The message, delivered at the height of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, followed months of relative silence from the spokesperson. Abu Obeida stated that the Israeli occupation had resumed its aggression after “reneging on agreements and understandings,” and that the resistance had entered a prolonged and open-ended phase of attrition.
In his address, he claimed that in the four months since the resumption of hostilities, the resistance had inflicted “hundreds of deaths and injuries” on Israeli forces, in addition to thousands suffering from psychological trauma. He further asserted that al-Qassam Brigades had continued to develop its combat tactics and devise new methods of engagement.
The Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip had resumed on March 18, 2025, following the breakdown of a ceasefire agreement between the resistance and Israel, which had come into effect on January 19 of the same year.
Abu Obeida explained in his final statement that the al-Qassam leadership was employing a strategy based on inflicting heavy casualties on the occupation forces, carrying out specialized operations, and attempting to capture soldiers. He revealed repeated attempts to carry out capture operations in the weeks leading up to his appearance.
The spokesperson also addressed the indirect negotiation process, announcing the resistance’s support for the negotiating delegation and revealing repeated offers to conclude a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal. He stated that the Benjamin Netanyahu government had rejected these offers, preferring, in his words, to continue the war at the expense of the lives of its captured soldiers.
This address is being recalled following al-Qassam Brigades’ announcement today of the death of Abu Obeida, Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout, who served as the military spokesperson for many years. He rose to prominence since Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood”, issuing successive statements for two years, detailing events.
