Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza City

Gaza City, Dec 14: The Israeli military on Saturday claimed it had killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad in an air strike carried out in Gaza City. Gaza health authorities said the attack killed five people and wounded at least 25 others.

Hamas, however, did not confirm Saad’s death. In a statement, the group said a civilian vehicle had been struck outside Gaza City and alleged that the attack violated the ceasefire that came into effect in October.

In a post on Telegram, the Israeli army alleged that Saad had been working to rebuild Hamas’s operational capabilities, which it said had been significantly weakened during more than two years of fighting in Gaza. The military described him as one of the key planners of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

If confirmed, Saad’s killing would mark the most high-profile assassination of a senior Hamas leader since the fragile ceasefire began. An Israeli defence official told Reuters that Saad was the intended target of the strike and identified him as the head of Hamas’s weapons manufacturing operations.

Hamas-linked sources have described Saad as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing, after Izz al-Din al-Haddad. He previously headed Hamas’s Gaza City battalion, considered one of the organisation’s largest and best-equipped units.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that an Israeli drone struck a vehicle near the Nabulsi junction in western Gaza City, causing casualties. It did not specify the number of victims, and it remained unclear whether the incident was the same strike in which Saad was reportedly targeted.

Gaza authorities have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire since October, alleging hundreds of strikes and scores of deaths during the period. Israel has also continued to restrict the entry of aid into the enclave.

Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, halt attacks on UN facilities, and comply with international law as an occupying power.