At least three Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were killed and eight others wounded following a barrage of Israeli airstrikes in western Gaza City during a high-stakes ground operation aimed at apprehending a senior Hamas commander. Gaza City Israeli Strike
Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed receiving the bodies and treating the injured following over a dozen morning strikes across the western perimeter of the city. Speaking shortly after the operation, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that a “senior Hamas terrorist” was apprehended, asserting that Israeli forces continue to hunt down Hamas operatives and dismantle underground military infrastructure.
However, security sources in Gaza offered a conflicting narrative, stating that Palestinian resistance fighters thwarted an Israeli special forces raid. According to local security officials, an undercover unit operating alongside local allied militia forces was exposed, triggering intense covering fire from Israeli warplanes as the team withdrew on motorcycles. Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas media office, claimed that several members of the raid party were killed during the resulting firefight.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it conducted targeted strikes across Gaza to remove immediate threats to its personnel, adding that no Israeli troops were injured. The military escalation highlights the ongoing fragility of the regional security environment across the enclave. MENA NewsWire
