The Palestinian militant group Hamas has confirmed on Wednesday that several of its top commanding officers were killed in Israeli strikes, including the military chief of Gaza city.

Israeli forces announced that they killed 16 Hamas fighters, including a senior commander and numerous weapons developers, in an airstrike on a Hamas command post in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Israeli security forces, the key casualties include Bassim Issa, a veteran of the Hamas brigade and commander for Gaza City, Jomaa Tahla, the Hamas Cyber and Missile Technology Chief, in addition to 13 members of the faction’s weapons manufacturing staff.

Furthermore, Bassem Issa is the highest-ranking military figure in Hamas to be killed by Israel since 2014.

In a statement from Hamas, it was revealed that Issa was killed “along with a few of his fellow brothers of leaders and holy fighters”, in the fighting that has been going on for past two days in Gaza.

Weeks of violent clashes in East Jerusalem have led to the heaviest fighting between Israel and Palestine in years, with Jerusalem at the core of this violence, as it contains sites sacred to Islam, Judaism and Christianity.