Hamas Confirms Senior Official Ali Al-Amoudi Wounded in Israeli Strike

A senior Hamas official has confirmed that Ali Al-Amoudi, who effectively manages the political bureau in Gaza and is considered a potential successor to Yahya Sinwar, was injured in an Israeli assassination attempt approximately two weeks ago. The official, speaking anonymously to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, stated that Al-Amoudi sustained moderate injuries and fractures to his limbs during an Israeli raid on an apartment in the Al-Mina area, west of Gaza City, on October 3. The strike killed five Palestinians.

The official asserted that Al-Amoudi was inside the targeted apartment but in a side section, which contributed to his survival. His health is reported as good, and he is receiving treatment in a secure location. This statement marks the first acknowledgment by a Hamas official of Al-Amoudi's presence at the site during the attack, contradicting earlier reports from several sources to Asharq Al-Awsat that he had left before the strike.

Previous accounts from three Hamas sources suggested Al-Amoudi received an urgent intelligence report about three hours before the attack, prompting his departure. These sources claimed that two members of the Al-Qassam Brigades' air unit observed intensive Israeli drone activity over Al-Mina on October 2. Suspecting a targeted strike on a leadership figure, they issued an urgent warning to Hamas security. Al-Amoudi's security chief was then alerted, leading to a decision to evacuate the apartment before it was hit by guided missiles and suicide drones.

The official who confirmed Al-Amoudi's injury did not elaborate on the prior warning but noted that field observers regularly report Israeli drone movements to various levels within Hamas. The discrepancy between earlier accounts and the recent confirmation raises questions about Al-Amoudi's exact status during the strike. The report suggests Hamas may have limited information about his injury, even internally, possibly to influence Israeli intelligence assessments and create confusion about the operation's outcome, though no independent evidence supports this hypothesis.

Al-Amoudi is a prominent figure in Hamas, known for his close ties to former leader Yahya Sinwar, with whom he previously served time in Israeli prisons before being released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. Before the current war, he headed Hamas's media department. In December 2025, he was appointed to manage the political bureau in Gaza alongside other figures close to Sinwar. This appointment faced internal objections, with accusations of bypassing the movement's internal regulations. Weeks before the assassination attempt, Al-Amoudi ran in an internal election for Hamas leader in Gaza against Nizar Awadallah, but the competition's conclusion was frozen due to objections regarding the electoral process.