Israel has tightened its security grip on the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, intensifying a campaign of intermittent assassinations that has escalated over recent days and weeks.
Israel has repeatedly cited security incidents it claims occurred, particularly in Rafah in southern Gaza, which it has fully controlled for many months. In other cases it has carried out assassinations using armed members of its special forces or Palestinian collaborators from local armed groups to kill resistance activists.
Israeli troops killed about 30 Palestinians in a series of strikes late on Wednesday, including at least two commanders from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
The Israeli military said the operations were carried out in response to gunfire from Palestinian militants in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, although no Israeli soldiers were wounded.
Channel 12 reported that Israel had decided to adopt new measures to intensify the pursuit of Hamas operatives, even if attacks from Gaza do not cause casualties among its forces.
Israeli Army Radio said the Shin Bet internal security service had obtained precise intelligence on a meeting of al-Qassam commanders in the Zeitoun district.
At least two were killed in a strike, including the commander of the Zeitoun battalion and another commander in the naval force.
Reports on the fate of the commanders present at the site were conflicting. Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that two senior officials had escaped the attempted assassination in Zeitoun because the strike occurred after they had left the area, while a field commander was successfully targeted in Khan Younis.
The sources said Israel’s claim that its forces had come under fire was false, adding that Israel launched a rolling operation that began with an afternoon strike on a group of civilians in the Shejaiya district east of Gaza City.
Soon after, it claimed it had been targeted by gunfire in Khan Younis, but it continued its operation in Gaza City with two strikes on a shelter and on civilians. That was followed by three attacks in Khan Younis, only one of which targeted a field commander, while the other two did not hit any fighters.
Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that, before issuing these claims, Israel had attempted to assassinate a senior commander in the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, who survived the attack while at home with his family in an apartment east of Gaza City.
The sources said an Israeli quadcopter drone dropped several small bombs on the apartment, followed by an explosive drone that crashed into the location and detonated, wounding several members of his family.
The operation came days after an Israeli special forces unit used two armed men to kill Wasim Abdel Hadi, an activist from the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, in central Gaza.
It was the second assassination by special forces targeting activists this month. In another incident, a Qassam operative was abducted in the Al-Nasr district of Gaza City by a special unit operating with an ambulance.
The escalation coincides with continued Israeli ground movements inside the Gaza Strip, along with persistent air and artillery strikes and gunfire east and west of the “yellow line” and its surrounding areas, which are referenced in the ceasefire agreement.
According to field sources, Israeli ground forces withdrew from the Shejaiya district early on Thursday after advancing roughly 300 meters. They expanded the yellow line in their favor by taking more land, pushing residents from newly exposed residential blocks toward western Shejaiya as artillery fire intensified on Wednesday afternoon.
The Government Media Office said Israeli forces expanded their control over the streets of Al-Shaaf, Al-Nazzaz and Baghdad, and trapped dozens of families who were unable to flee after tanks advanced unexpectedly. The fate of many residents remained unknown during the bombardment.
These ongoing crimes show clear contempt for the ceasefire decision, and add to nearly 400 violations documented since it took effect, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 Palestinians and hundreds of wounded, worsening the catastrophic conditions facing our people in the small remaining area of Gaza, the office said.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 33 Palestinians were killed over the past 24 hours, including 32 in Israeli air strikes, while the body of another person killed earlier in the war was recovered. Another 88 people were wounded. The ministry said 12 children and 8 women were among those killed, representing 66 percent of the total.
It said 312 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, and 760 have been wounded, while 572 bodies have been recovered. The figures do not include a Palestinian who was shot dead by Israeli forces on Thursday morning east of Khan Younis.
The overall death toll from Israel’s aggression has risen to 69,546, with 170,833 wounded since October 7, 2023.
