Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades confirms former spokesman, whose real name was Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout, died in Israeli strike on Gaza in August
Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, introduced a new spokesman on Monday and confirmed the death of his predecessor in an Israeli strike on Gaza City in August.
In a prerecorded speech aired on Arab media, the new spokesman revealed that his predecessor, known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida, was actually Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout.
The new spokesperson, whose identity is unknown, is also taking on the same nom de guerre.
This marked the first time Hamas officially confirmed Kahlout’s identity, after he had served as the al-Qassam Brigades spokesman and head of its military unit for two decades without ever revealing his true face.
“We mourn the great leader Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout, Abu Ibrahim, the head of al-Qassam’s media apparatus, who passed away after two decades of frustrating the enemies and uplifting the hearts of the believers,” said the new Abu Obeida.
“We pay tribute to the masked man in the red keffiyeh, the thunderous voice of the nation, Abu Obeida, who never abandoned his people in the darkest of times and spoke to them from the heart of the battle.”
The new spokesperson also confirmed that Mohammed al-Sinwar, the former commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by Israeli forces in May. Other senior military leaders were also confirmed dead, including Raed Saad, who was killed earlier this month.
Kahlout had served as the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing for over 20 years.
Always appearing incognito with his face covered by a red keffiyeh, little was known about Kahlout’s personal life, earning him the title “the masked one” in the Arab world.
He was best known for his televised speeches, in which he provided battlefield updates, boasted about Hamas’s military successes, and taunted Israel.
One of Hamas’s most prominent figures, he garnered widespread popularity and reverence across the Arabic-speaking world, with his distinctive look often replicated in protests and his name immortalised in songs.
His profile increased dramatically after the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, and the subsequent Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.
Though little is known about his life, Kahlout mentioned in a 2005 interview that his family was forcibly displaced by Zionist militias during the 1948 Nakba and resettled in an unnamed camp in the Gaza Strip. At the time, he suggested he was in his early 20s, implying he was born in the mid-1980s.
Sources within Hamas said only a few people knew his real identity prior to his death.
“Abu Obeida” is a nom de guerre he adopted during the Second Intifada (2000-2005) when he first appeared publicly. The name probably references Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, a revered companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a legendary military commander.
His first public appearance as the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades was in 2004. He held a press conference that October during an Israeli ground assault in northern Gaza.
From then on, he became the group’s sole military spokesperson, delivering speeches and battlefield updates through Hamas’s official media platforms. His role was formalised within Hamas’s media office in 2004.
His first major appearance came in 2006 when he announced the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
In 2014, he was also the first to announce the capture of another Israeli soldier, Shaul Aron, during the Israeli war on Gaza, revealing his identity card number in a recorded video.
Occasionally, he has commented outside of wartime. In 2022, following the re-arrest of six Palestinian prisoners who had escaped from an Israeli jail, he vowed Hamas would secure their release in a future prisoner exchange.
One of his most notable speeches was on 28 October 2024, when he criticised Arab leaders for failing to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“God forbid” Palestinians ask Arab rulers to intervene militarily in Gaza, he said, but their failure to even provide relief supplies shocked Hamas.
The phrase “God forbid” later became a widely used slogan in the Arab-speaking world and on social media to express Arab leaders’ unwillingness to act against Israeli attacks.
Israel made several attempts to assassinate him over the past 20 years, including two since October 2023.
In April 2024, the US sanctioned him as Hamas’s “information warfare chief”, with the US treasury department accusing him of leading the “cyber influence department of al-Qassam Brigades”.
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