Hamas's armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced a new spokesman on Monday while confirming that his predecessor was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City in August. In a pre-recorded video broadcast on Arab media outlets, the new spokesman—whose real name remains undisclosed—revealed that the previous spokesman, known publicly as Abu Obeida, was actually Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout, also called Abu Ibrahim. He now uses the same public name, Abu Obeida.
This marks the first official confirmation of Kahlout's identity. For two decades, he led the group's media operations and served as its main spokesman without ever showing his face publicly. The new spokesman paid tribute, stating: “We mourn the great leader Huthaifa Samir al-Kahlout, Abu Ibrahim, head of al-Qassam’s media apparatus, who passed away after two decades of frustrating the enemies and uplifting the hearts of the believers.”
