Israel says it killed commander of Hamas aerial unit in Gaza strike

More than a month after an Israeli airstrike in a humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said the head of the aerial unit of the Islamist Hamas group was among those killed.

Samer Abu Daqqa was directly involved in the massacre of October 7, 2023 and was jointly responsible for the invasion of Israeli territory with paragliders and drones, the Israeli army said on Telegram.

He had been head of the aerial unit since October 2023, after his predecessor was killed by the Israeli army. According to the army, he previously headed Hamas' drone unit and was responsible for the terrorist organization's weapons production.

The Israeli military's statements could not immediately be verified.

According to Palestinian reports, at least 19 people were killed and 60 others injured in the airstrike in a humanitarian zone in the sealed-off coastal strip in early September.

At the time, the Israeli army said that the attack had been against high-ranking Hamas terrorists in a hidden command centre without mentioning specific people or the positions they held.

10 killed in an attack in northern Gaza

At least 10 people were killed and 40 more wounded in an Israeli attack on northern Gaza when queuing for food at a UN distribution facility, according to reports from witnesses.

Witnesses told dpa by phone that the line at the distribution centre operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Jabalia was hit by Israeli grenades.

The Israeli army said it was looking into the claims.

It comes after at least 25 people were killed in Israeli attacks on a former school and a hospital in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian information.

The Israeli army said it had targeted a Hamas command centre embedded in the building that previously served as a hospital.