Israel eliminates Hamas leader in Gaza amid ceasefire row
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the elimination of Alaa al-Hadidi, a local commander within the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, DW reports.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas continue to trade mutual accusations regarding ceasefire violations.
According to an IDF statement, al-Hadidi was killed during one of the operations conducted across the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Hamas has not issued a statement regarding reports of al-Hadidi's death.
Simultaneously, Israel and the Palestinian group persist in accusing one another of breaching the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli military previously carried out airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the attacks were a response to Hamas sending a militant into Israeli-controlled territory. According to Netanyahu, five senior Hamas members were eliminated in the operation.
Conversely, Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza reported that at least 20 Palestinians were killed following the Israeli strikes.
Background of the Conflict
The attack on Israel launched by Hamas—recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States—on October 7, 2023, marked the tipping point for the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. At that time, militants launched a rocket attack on Israel, breached its territory, and orchestrated the largest massacre of civilians in the history of the modern Israeli state, killing approximately 1,200 people. They also seized around 250 hostages, taking them into the Gaza Strip. While some hostages have since been exchanged or released, others have died in captivity.
Following the ground operation and bombardment of the Gaza Strip, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 169,000 injured, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. However, the methodology behind these statistics is not specified. It remains unclear how many Islamist militants are included in the death toll, or whether it encompasses Palestinian deaths from natural causes in hospitals.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
