Israeli Strike in Gaza City Kills Ten, Including Five Children; Hamas Commander Identified
An Israeli air strike late on Wednesday on a building in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of at least ten people, including five children, according to local hospitals. Around twenty individuals were also reported injured in the attack.
The apparent target was Imad Asleem, a local Hamas battalion commander, who was killed and buried on Thursday. His teenage daughter, Israa, also died in the strike. While Hamas has not issued an official statement, the Israeli military confirmed it struck "two central Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip" without naming them.
Footage from the aftermath showed significant damage to the residential building and destroyed tents in an adjacent displaced persons' camp. Residents described a chaotic scene. Raslan Bajou, whose wife was injured, stated, "My neighbours were in pieces." Um Azzam al-Zaim recounted her tent breaking and rubble falling after a water tank was hit, forcing them to struggle to escape. She reported seeing the bodies of children who had been observing the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday by sharing chocolates on the building's roof.
This incident follows other recent Israeli strikes targeting senior Hamas figures. On Tuesday, Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas's military wing, was killed with his wife and two sons in an Israeli attack. His predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, was killed on 15 May. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on social media that his country had "pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre" and that "Hamas will not rule Gaza civilly or militarily."
Other recent strikes include the killing of Ihab Khrizim, head of a Hamas funds transfer network, and Mohammed al-Habash, a unit commander involved in weapons manufacturing, in Khan Younis. Another attack on Tuesday reportedly killed at least five Palestinians in the al-Meghazi refugee camp.
These actions occur as Israel and Hamas continue US-brokered talks concerning a 'peace plan' for Gaza, which reportedly entails Hamas disarming and Israeli troop withdrawals. Israel's military campaign in Gaza, launched after the 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, has resulted in the deaths of over 72,800 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are deemed reliable by the UN. Much of Gaza has been reduced to ruins, displacing many of its 2.1 million residents.