The Israeli army said it had killed a senior Hamas commander in Gaza October 7, 2023, attack that turned him on two years of war. The military said it killed Raed Saad after an explosive device blew up and wounded two soldiers in the south of the territory.
Hamas, in a statement, has not confirmed Saad’s death. He said a civilian vehicle had been hit outside Gaza City and confirmed it was a “criminal violation”. A US-led ceasefire entered into force on October 10.
Saad was a Hamas official in charge of manufacturing and previously headed the militant group’s operations division. The Israeli statement said it had been “rebuilding a terrorist organization” in violation of the ceasefire.
An Israel Defense Forces official confirmed that Israel had not violated the ceasefire agreement, as the agreement allows the army to strike targets actively engaged in terrorism.
“Hamas is clearly violating the ceasefire agreement and is not fulfilling its obligations,” the military said. “Day after day, Hamas terrorists violate the cease-fire agreement, crossing the yellow line, threatening the lives of IDF soldiers operating in authorized areas, and further undermining efforts to maintain stability.”
The Israeli attack in western Gaza City killed four people, according to an Associated Press reporter who saw their bodies arrive at Shifa Hospital. Three others were injured, according to Al-Awda Hospital.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of breaking the truce.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza have killed at least 386 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has said the latest strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks on its soldiers, and that troops have opened fire on Palestinians approaching the “Yellow Line” between Israel’s majority in Gaza and the rest of the territory.
Israel has demanded that Palestinian militias return the remains of the latest hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza, as a condition for moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire. This sets out a vision to end Hamas rule and see a demilitarized Gaza rebuilt under international supervision.
The initial 2023 terrorist attack led by Hamas killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel 251 kidnapped. Of the hostages taken to Gaza, 148 were released as part of previous ceasefire agreements He was rescued by Israeli forces, according to Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The bodies of 57 other hostages were returned or recovered, the Ministry says.
Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,650 Palestinians, roughly half of them women and children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its counts.
Much of Gaza has been destroyed and most of its population of over 2 million has been displaced. Humanitarian aid entering the territory remains below the level set by the ceasefire conditions, and Palestinians who lost limbs in the war face shortages of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations.