Casualties Reported in Gaza City Strike
At least 10 individuals, including five children, lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza City late Wednesday, according to local hospital reports.
The strike appeared to target Imad Asleem, a local Hamas battalion commander, who was killed alongside his teenage daughter Israa. Both were buried on Thursday.
Hamas has not issued an official statement regarding the incident.
The Israeli military released a brief statement confirming it struck "two central Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip," without revealing their identities.
This attack is part of a series of recent Israeli strikes aimed at senior Hamas figures in Gaza.
Damage and Injuries
Footage from Thursday's strike showed a severely damaged residential building in central Gaza City and destroyed tents in a nearby displaced persons camp.
Approximately 20 people were reported injured in the attack.
Raslan Bajou, who was asleep in his tent during the strike, described the event:
"This is a sin, I swear it's a sin."
He told that his "neighbours were in pieces" amid the chaotic aftermath, and his wife sustained injuries.
Um Azzam al-Zaim, whose relative was visiting her for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, recounted the experience:
"We didn't know what was going on."
"We were soaked when a water tank on the roof above was hit.
Our tent broke and rubble fell on me from outside. It was difficult for us to get out of the tent."
She also reported witnessing the bodies of children who had been blown off the top of a neighboring building after gathering there to share their Eid chocolates.
Funeral Procession and Public Reaction
Pictures from Gaza City on Thursday depicted a large funeral procession, where a body wrapped in the flag of Hamas was carried on a stretcher through the crowds with a gun placed on top of it.
Several attendees were seen waving green flags, the color associated with Hamas.
Context of Recent Targeted Killings
The Gaza City strike followed the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas's military wing, along with his wife and two sons in an Israeli strike the previous day. Another woman was reportedly killed in that attack.
On 15 May, Israel killed Odeh's predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
Since the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel has targeted numerous Hamas leaders.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz posted on X that Israel had "pledged to eliminate everyone who led the October 7 massacre" in 2023, adding:
"We pledged that Hamas will not rule Gaza civilly or militarily."
The Israeli military also reported that a strike on a car in Khan Younis on Tuesday killed Ihab Khrizim, head of a Hamas funds transfer network, and Mohammed al-Habash, a unit commander in Hamas's production headquarters involved in weapons manufacturing.
Another Israeli attack on the same day killed at least five Palestinians in the al-Meghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, according to local hospital sources.
Broader Conflict and Peace Efforts
These strikes occur amid a deadlock between Israel and Hamas in indirect, US-brokered talks aimed at advancing President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza.
The proposed next steps include Hamas relinquishing its weapons and Israeli troop withdrawals.
The 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the Gaza war resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken.
In response, Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza, which devastated much of the territory and displaced many of its 2.1 million residents.
According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN considers reliable, Israeli forces have killed more than 72,800 people in Gaza.
