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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister
Israel Katz said an airstrike carried out by the military Friday
evening targeted al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ Qassam
brigades.
There were at least two Israeli strikes Friday evening in Gaza
City, one of which Israel said targeted al-Haddad. One strike
targeted a residential building and another a vehicle. Seven
people were killed and dozens of others wounded, according to
health officials in the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Saraya
Field Hospital and Shifa hospital, where the casualties were
taken
In a statement, Netanyahu and Katz said that al-Haddad was “one
of the architects” of the Oct. 7 attack.
Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire despite a fragile
ceasefire agreement reached in October. More than 850 people
have been killed since then, according to the Gaza Health
Ministry. The Health Ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run
government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain
and publish detailed records, viewed as generally reliable by
the international community.
Netanyahu and Katz threatened that Israel will continue to work
against all those who took part in the Oct. 7 attack, in which
militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Over
72,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its
offensive in response to Hamas’ 2023 attack.
“Sooner or later, Israel will reach you,” the statement read.
Palestinian citizens reported more airstrikes that followed the
one that targeted al-Haddad. It was not immediately clear what
the Israeli military was targeting.
Since the shaky ceasefire was reached, both Israel and Hamas
have traded accusations of violations. Israel has targeted Hamas
members inside the coastal enclave, the last of whom was the son
of Hamas’ lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.
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Ezzidin reported from Cairo.
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