Senior Hamas figure behind Oct 7 attack killed: Israel
The Israeli military says it has killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
Hakham al-Issa, described as one of the founders of the Palestinian Islamist group and a leading figure in its military wing, was said to have been involved in planning and executing the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
The attacks triggered Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. More than 56,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the sealed-off territory, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.
According to the Israeli military, al-Issa was one of the last remaining high-ranking Hamas commanders in Gaza.
He most recently served as chief of staff for the group's "combat and administrative support division".
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed at least 72 people across Gaza overnight into Saturday local time, health workers said, as ceasefire prospects were said to be improving after 21 months of war.
Three children and their parents were killed in an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Muwasi near the southern city of Khan Younis. They were struck while sleeping, relatives said.
"What did these children do to them? What is their fault?" said the children's grandmother, Suad Abu Teima, as others knelt to kiss their bloodied faces and wept. Some placed red flowers into the body bags.
Also among the dead were 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital. More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, according to health officials.
A midday strike killed 11 people on a street in eastern Gaza City, and their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital.
US President Donald Trump says there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, "We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of."
An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will arrive in Washington next week for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other subjects.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have been on again, off again since Israel broke the latest ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and furthering the territory's dire humanitarian crisis.
Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half believed to still be alive. They were among 251 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people, according to Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza. After blocking all food for two-and-a-half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded while seeking food since the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid in the territory about a month ago, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on roads heading toward the sites. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots and it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites.
Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the sites, moving through Israeli military zones.
Separate efforts by the United Nations to distribute limited food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys.
The latest death toll included two people killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting to receive aid near the Netzarim corridor, a road that separates northern and southern Gaza, according to Al-Shifa and Al-Awda hospitals, which each received one body.
There was no immediate Israeli military comment.
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