Hamas Video Praises Slain Operative, Israel Highlights His Combat Role

Hamas has released a video praising Muhammad Dakhan, a militant from its Rafah Brigade who was killed by the IDF in December 2023. At the time of his death, Dakhan was 63 years old and was listed by the Hamas Ministry of Health as a Palestinian fatality in the elderly category, defined as age 59 and above.

The release of the video by Hamas, which frames Dakhan as a figure worthy of praise, is being used by Israeli sources to counter narratives that Israel indiscriminately kills elderly civilians in Gaza. By highlighting Dakhan's combat role within Hamas, Israel aims to demonstrate that those killed, even if elderly, were active combatants.

The IDF operation that resulted in Dakhan's death occurred in December 2023. Hamas's decision to memorialize him in a video serves to bolster its own narrative, while Israel leverages the same material to refute claims of alleged war crimes against the elderly.