Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip yesterday, health officials said, as ceasefire efforts meant to end fighting between Israel and Hamas falter.
In the weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, Israel has stepped up its attacks in Gaza, where Hamas has been tightening its grip, even as Israeli troops remain in control of more than half the territory.
Medics said an Israeli strike killed one Palestinian near a police post and another at a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it killed a fighter who posed an immediate threat to forces in the area.
Separately, Gaza medics said another Israeli air strike killed at least three people at a community kitchen near Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah, in the central Gaza area. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas commander developing anti-tank missiles.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said Izz Al Din Al Haddad, the head of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, was killed in what it described as a precise strike on Gaza City on Friday.
Hamas confirmed Haddad’s death but stopped short of threatening revenge.
The Israeli military said it had also killed Bahaa Baroud, a Hamas Operations Headquarters commander, in an air strike on Saturday, accusing him of planning multiple imminent attacks against troops and Israeli civilians in recent weeks.
Gaza health officials said Baroud, along with another person, was killed in the air strike, which targeted their car in Gaza City.
Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza that is meant to end more than two years of fighting with Hamas disarming as Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza.
Some 870 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire, according to figures that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Four Israeli soldiers were killed by fighters during the same period.
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