One of the figures at the top of Hamas who became the most famous figure as a result of the current war in the Gaza Strip is the figure of “Abu Obeidah”, the spokesman for the military wing of Hamas.
“Abu Obeidah” bin Al-Jarrah was the nickname of one of the ten personal companions of the Prophet Muhammad, also called “the protector of the nation”, and during the last years this nickname was also used by senior members of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, such as Abu Obeidah Al-Banshiri and Abu Obeidah Al-Masri.
“Abu Obeidah”, who makes sure to appear in pre-recorded short videos while masked, is the one who has been leading the media war and the psychological warfare of the military wing of Hamas for many years, but naturally in the current war, which is very different from the previous rounds of fighting, he has a prominent and special role.
He managed to impose his presence on the Arab and foreign media as well as the Israeli media, he is very close to the military leadership of Hamas, which appreciates his skills, and it is estimated that he is hiding in the tunnels under the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, inside the central bunker from which Hamas conducts the battle and in it the military top of Hamas Muhammad Def, Yahya Sinwar and Marwan Issa.
“Abu Obeidah” often precedes the IDF spokesman in his messages and provides important information to the media on the issue of the Israeli fighting and the abductees, but it is evident that since the IDF’s ground operations in the Gaza Strip began there are many lies in his messages and spins designed to serve the military arm of Hamas and paint it as the one that causes Heavy losses for the IDF.
He exposed himself to the Palestinian media in 2002 as one of the field commanders of the military wing of Hamas, he held press conferences while wearing a mask and when he imitated the senior commander of the military wing of Hamas, Imad Akel, who was killed by Israel in 1993 and who used to appear in the media with his head wrapped in a red turban.
After the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005, he was officially appointed as the spokesman for the military wing of Hamas.
His origin is from the town of Nilia in the Gaza Strip and his home is in the Jabaliya refugee camp, he has a master’s degree from the Islamic University in Gaza City and wrote a master’s thesis under the title “The Holy Land between Judaism, Christianity and Islam”, the IDF tried to assassinate him several times and his home was bombed in 2008, 2012 , 2014 and also during the current war.
He gained great popularity and media exposure in the Gaza Strip during the war in 2014 when he announced the kidnapping
of IDF soldier Oron Shaul, he used to use the social networks Twitter and Facebook but his accounts were closed there, today he uses the Telegram application and the TV channel “Al-Aqsa” of Hamas to publish his messages.
Although “Abu Obeidah” tries to hide his identity, Israel has revealed his name in the past, but in the current war it went up a notch, a few days ago the IDF spokesman in the Arabic language, Avihai Adrei, published a message with a picture of “Abu Obeidah” with his face visible and revealed that his real name is Khazifa Kachloot.
He called him a “liar and coward”, the military wing of Hamas completely ignored the IDF spokesman’s statement and did not respond to it.
“Abu Obeidah” is currently considered the spearhead of Hamas’s psychological warfare system against Israel, he usually opens his messages with verses from the Koran and concludes with promises of victory, he managed to become an icon of the military wing of Hamas among the Palestinians and among Hamas supporters worldwide.
His name is often mentioned in chants during demonstrations by Hamas supporters in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria alongside the name of Muhammad Def.
The official disclosure of Abu Obeidah’s real name and image in the media by the IDF and the Shin Bet is part of Israel’s psychological warfare and is intended to send a message of deterrence to the military leadership of Hamas in the Gaza Strip that a war is coming and it will be eliminated by the IDF.
Sources in the Gaza Strip claim that “Abu Obeidah” is now taking various precautionary measures, but he is under close intelligence surveillance by Israel and security sources say that he will be assassinated as soon as there is an appropriate intelligence and operational opportunity.
As far as Israel is concerned, he is a terrorist for all intents and purposes and his fate is sealed as is the fate of the entire military leadership of Hamas.
