Israel struck Gaza City, the largest city in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas' top military leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on the 15th local time.
In the joint statement, Netanyahu said, "We carried out a strike targeting Izz al-Din al-Hadad, Hamas' top military leader."
According to Gaza Strip emergency responders and Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, at least seven people were killed in the strike, including one child and three women, and more than 50 were injured and transported to hospitals.
Israel first hit a residential building in the Rimal area of Gaza City in the afternoon, then carried out a second strike targeting a vehicle traveling on a nearby road, rescue workers said.
However, it has not yet been confirmed whether al-Hadad is among the dead. Hamas has also not issued a position. But a senior Israeli official told CNN that "based on initial indications, the assassination operation appears to have succeeded."
Israel said al-Hadad was one of the key figures who planned and directed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel and has since been involved in holding hostages. It also criticized him for "refusing to implement the agreement led by U.S. President Donald Trump, centered on disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip."
A cease-fire took effect in October last year through U.S. mediation, but an unstable truce has continued in the Gaza Strip. Israel has continued to carry out airstrikes targeting individuals it deems to be Hamas members or threats to the Israel Defense Forces.
According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 850 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli airstrikes since mid-October last year.