On Saturday, an Israeli Air Force plane targeted multiple Hamas militants in Gaza. Before the attack, the country stated that it had implemented measures to minimize civilian casualties. Israel stated that Hamas militants were active in a building that had previously been a school in Gaza.
The Israeli Air Force reported that Air Force planes, under the command of the Air Force and Southern Command, targeted Hamas terrorists operating in the central Gaza Strip at the former “Ahmed Elkard” school, which had been turned into a command and control complex.
Prior to the attack, numerous measures were implemented to minimize the risk of causing harm to civilians, such as the deployment of accurate weapons, aerial bombardments, and increased intelligence gathering, the statement included.
Hamas consistently disregards international law, cruelly using civilian institutions and the population as shields for terrorist activities. It was stated that the IDF will persist in taking strong action against terrorist groups that seek refuge in schools and civilian institutions.
Israel killed Abdel-Aziz Salha on October 3, a Hamas militant from the West Bank who was serving a life sentence for his involvement in the lynching of two Israeli reservists in Ramallah in 2000. Salha was later deported to Gaza as part of a prisoner exchange.
Medics reported that Salha died in an Israeli airstrike on a tent located inside Al-Aklouk School, where displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip earlier on Thursday.
On October 4, the Israeli military reported that it had carried out an airstrike in Gaza three months prior, resulting in the deaths of three high-ranking Hamas members. The three men were recognized as Rawhi Mushtaha, a close associate of Hamas Gaza leader Yehya Al-Sinwar, Sameh Al-Saraj, a high-ranking security officer, and Sami Odeh, the commander of Hamas’ general security service.
On that very day, five Palestinians were killed in Gaza City from an Israeli airstrike, while another airstrike in Nuseirat resulted in the death of one man and injuries to multiple individuals.
On October 7, Gazans will commemorate the war’s first anniversary with little optimism for an imminent ceasefire, as Israel launches a new land operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah, who are supported by Iran.
Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel to assist Hamas in the conflict in Gaza, which began after Hamas-affiliated fighters raided Israeli communities on October 7 of the previous year.
Israel reported that 1,200 individuals died and over 250 were abducted during the incident, which sparked the conflict that resulted in the destruction of Gaza, leading to the displacement of the majority of its 2.3 million residents and the deaths of over 41,700 individuals, as stated by Gaza health officials.