Israel kills senior Hamas commander in Gaza strike: Israeli media say

CAIRO/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli military killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saed in a strike on a car in Gaza City on Saturday, several Israeli media outlets reported, citing sources.

The attack killed four people and wounded at least 25 others, according to Gaza health authorities. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a senior Hamas commander in Gaza City, without giving a name or details.

If Saed was killed, it would be the highest-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since a ceasefire deal came into effect in October.

An Israeli defence official said Saed had been targetted in the attack, describing him as the head of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing force.

Hamas sources have also described him as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing, after Izz eldeen Al-Hadad.

Saed used to head Hamas’ Gaza City battalion, one of the group’s largest and best-equipped, those sources said.

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The Israeli military said that earlier two soldiers were injured by an explosive device that “detonated during an operation to clear the area” of the Palestinian group’s infrastructure. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were related.

Israel has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians in Gaza war, most of them civilians, health officials in Gaza say.

The October 10 ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City’s ruins. Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased.

But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, and it has attacked scores of fighters.