An Israeli strike in Gaza targeted senior Hamas official Raad Saad, Israeli media reported on Saturday, citing reports in the Strip.
The IDF has yet to confirm or deny the reports, and Saad’s condition is currently unknown.
Israeli media sources reported that Saad is a member of Hamas’s military wing and serves as the head of the terrorist group’s operations department.
His death would mark the most significant killing of a Hamas commander in months.
The IDF earlier stated that fighter jets had struck two Hamas military infrastructures in the Gaza City area. The military noted that more details were to follow.
Later, Ismail Al-Thawabtathe, director of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, told Reuters that Israeli attacks in districts of Gaza City had killed 42 people. He did not specify to Reuters how many of that number were terrorist operatives and how many may have been civilians.
Where were the strikes?
According to the media office director, some 24 of that figure were killed in a strike on houses in the Shati refugee camp outside of Gaza City.
The other 18 were reportedly killed in a strike on houses in the Tuffah neighborhood of the city.
Residents said Israeli tanks have deepened their incursion into western and northern Rafah areas in recent days. On Saturday, Israeli forces bombed several areas from the air and ground, forcing many families living in areas described as humanitarian-designated zones to leave northwards.
The Israeli military said forces continued “precise, intelligence-based” targeted operations in Rafah, killing many Palestinian gunmen and dismantling military infrastructure.
Reuters contributed to this report.