'One of the key moments of the war': Israel eliminates IRGC commander who oversaw Hamas' Oct 7 massacre

The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that Saeed Izadi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) “Palestine Corps,” was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a safehouse in the Iranian city of Qom.

Izadi served in the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, which orchestrates overseas terror operations against Israel and other countries. The military described him as “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and noted that he was “among the few who knew of it prior to its execution.”

“Izadi facilitated increased financial support from Iran to Hamas for terror activities against the State of Israel and maintained direct contact with Palestinian terror organizations,” the IDF stated.

Izadi was involved in both backing Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza and supporting terror attacks in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the elimination of Izadi is “one of the key moments in the multi-front war and makes the entire Middle East safer.”

“Saeed Izadi was one of the confidants involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre, and on his hands is the blood of thousands of Israelis,” Zamir assessed.

“He led the Iran-Hamas axis and was a confidant of Sinwar and Deif,” he said, referring to the late senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif.

The IDF chief praised the close cooperation between Israeli intelligence and the Israeli Air Force (IAF).

“This is a tremendous intelligence and operational achievement by the Intelligence Directorate and the Air Force,” Zamir stated, warning “there are no more cities of refuge in the Middle East.”

The senior IRGC official was eliminated far from Israel “following a prolonged intelligence effort,” he said.

The IDF emphasized that Izadi had “made it his mission to rebuild Hamas’s military wing and ensure the group remained the ruling power in Gaza.” The military described Izadi as “one of the founders and leading figures behind the Iranian regime’s plan to destroy Israel.”

The IDF revealed that Iran's military strategy against Israel “aimed to launch a multi-front attack on Israel in two phases.”

The Iranian regime praised the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israeli border communities but denied direct involvement in the attack.

However, in November 2024, the intelligence-linked Meir Amit Center reported that IDF soldiers uncovered documents in Gaza exposing the extent of Iranian support for Hamas ahead of the Oct. 7 massacre.

One key document, signed by the late Hamas deputy military commander Marwan Issa, revealed that Iran had been transferring $7 million per month to Hamas prior to the attack. Between July 2014 and July 2020 alone, Tehran reportedly funneled a total of $154 million to the terrorist group.

The documents also provided information about Iran's involvement in preparations for Hamas ahead of the Oct. 7 attack, "including the coordination with Hezbollah and the deployment of Hamas in the Lebanese arena."

The Israeli military emphasized that the Hamas October 7 attack was to a high degree in accordance with the regime’s plan to destroy the Jewish state.

“First, a missile and rocket barrage by the regime and its proxies across the Middle East. Second, a mass invasion of Israeli territory by tens of thousands of terrorists from Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Judea and Samaria,” the IDF stated.

On Saturday, the IDF announced that the IAF had eliminated Behnam Shahriyari, head of the Iranian Quds Force’s Weapons Transfer Unit (Unit 190) within the IRGC, in a separate aerial strike.

Shahriyari reportedly played a central role in transferring missiles and rockets to Iran’s terrorist proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis in Yemen – many of which were later used in attacks on Israeli civilian areas.

He also oversaw the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to fund Tehran’s proxy campaigns of anti-Israel terrorism.