Israel was checking on Monday whether Hamas’s deputy military leader died in an air strike in Gaza, media said, as prospects faded of talks securing a ceasefire to coincide with the holy month of Ramadan.
If his death is confirmed, Marwan Issa would be the highest-ranking official from the militant group killed by Israel in five months of war that have pulverised the enclave and killed thousands of Palestinians.
Israeli Army Radio said Al Nusseirat camp in central Gaza had been bombed on Saturday night following intelligence about the location of Issa, second-in-command of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades.
The attack killed five people, the report said.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel was checking whether the fatalities included Issa.
A Palestinian source said the Israelis had hit a place where they thought Issa was hiding, but could give no details of his fate. Neither the Israeli military nor Hamas officials immediately commented on the media reports.
On Sunday, in a statement rounding up operations from the previous 24 hours, Israel said its forces had killed militants in central Gaza but did not mention the camp.
Issa, nicknamed the ‘Shadow Man’ for his ability to stay off Israel’s radar screens, was one of three top Hamas leaders who planned the October 7 attack and are believed to have been directing Hamas’s military operations since then.
He was on Israel’s “most wanted” list, together with Mohammed Deif, commander of the Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Issa’s death, if confirmed, could also complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages, although Israel says talks are continuing through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Hamas blames Israel for refusing to give guarantees to end the war and withdraw troops. Israel wants a temporary truce to allow an exchange of hostages, but has said it will not stop its war until it has defeated Hamas.
Negotiators had wanted a halt in hostilities for Ramadan, which began on Monday, and traditionally heralds a rise in tension in the occupied Palestinian territories.
But in the early hours, an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed 16 people and wounded several others, Palestinian health officials said.
The strike, around dawn in Zeitoun, one of Gaza City’s oldest neighbourhoods, hit the house of the Abu Shammala family, killing those inside, according to medics. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
In central Gaza, the Israeli military said its forces had killed around 15 militants in close combat and air strikes. Commandos in Khan Younis, where much of Israel’s military operation has been focused in recent weeks, targeted sites believed to be used by Hamas militants, the military said. Elsewhere around the region, pro-Palestinian groups continued to make their presence felt. Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had launched several drones at an outpost in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Monday, while two other incidents were reported in Red Sea waters where Yemen’s Houthis have been attacking ships.
As Ramadan began, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres appealed for a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages and the removal of obstacles to life-saving aid.
The conflict has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, with many cramped into makeshift tents with little in the way of food or basic medical supplies in the southern city of Rafah — which Israel says it plans to seize.