Israel has said Hamas’ military intelligence chief in southern Gaza has been “eliminated”.
In a post on X, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Osama Tabash was also head of the group’s surveillance and targeting unit.
It said he was responsible for “planning and coordinating targets and infiltration objectives” during the October 2023 terror attack, and was in charge of “combat strategy on the ground”.
It did not say when or where he was killed and Hamas has not commented on the claim.
It comes as Israel’s defence minister said he had ordered ground forces to advance deeper into Gaza and to hold more land in an effort to pressure Hamas to free more hostages.
“The more Hamas continues its refusal to release the kidnapped, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” said Israel Katz.
Israel resumed airstrikes a few days ago after an extension to the ceasefire that had seen Israeli hostages swapped for Palestinian prisoners could not be agreed.
The truce was supposed to continue as long as talks on the second phase continued, but Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu refused to enter substantive negotiations.
Nearly 600 Palestinians have now been killed since Tuesday – many of them children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel has said it will escalate operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it still holds – 24 of whom are believed alive – and gives up control of Gaza.
On Thursday, after retaking part of the Netzarim corridor that divides Gaza’s north from south, Israeli troops moved towards the town of Beit Lahiya, as well as the southern border city of Rafah.
Israel also said it had resumed enforcing a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City.
A man carries his daughter, killed in an airstrike, at her funeral in Gaza City on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians inspect the site of a strike on a house in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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Meanwhile, an explosion on Friday east of Gaza City killed a couple and their two children, plus another two children not related to them but in the same building, according to witnesses and a local hospital.
The Israeli military said it had targeted a militant in a Gaza City building – with steps taken to minimise civilian harm.
It was not clear if it was referring to the same strike.
Israel also said it planned to conduct raids in three neighbourhoods west of Gaza City and warned Palestinians to evacuate in advance.
The warning came shortly after it said it had intercepted two rockets that set off sirens in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon.
