Israeli media outlets alleged on Saturday evening that the Israeli occupation army attempted to assassinate Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during an airstrike that targeted a residential building in central Gaza City.
According to Israel’s state broadcaster, the military sought to kill Abu Obeida during the strike, though no further details were provided. The Israeli army meanwhile claimed it had targeted “a senior Hamas commander in Gaza City” with its warplanes.
A military statement added that the operation was carried out “in cooperation with the Shin Bet and the Southern Command, and under the guidance of Military Intelligence,” noting that “precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence gathering” were deployed during the attack.
Israeli outlets, including Channel 13, reported that Abu Obeida was the intended target of the strike. Channel 7 went further, claiming that “there are estimates in Israel that the spokesman of al-Qassam, Abu Obeida, has been assassinated.” Neither Hamas nor the al-Qassam Brigades have commented on these Israeli claims.
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian medical sources confirmed that seven Palestinian civilians were martyred and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a building in the al-Rimal neighbourhood west of Gaza City — a densely populated area filled with displaced families.
The same sources noted that the building was inhabited mainly by women, children, and displaced persons from other parts of Gaza City and the northern governorates, and was surrounded by makeshift tents for the displaced.
These developments come as the occupation army has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City’s neighbourhoods since dawn on Friday, after declaring the city a “dangerous combat zone” — a move aimed at forcibly driving Palestinian civilians from their homes.
They also follow reports of a series of severe security incidents inside the Strip, including the killing and capture of Israeli soldiers, most notably during an ambush in the al-Zaytoun district. The Israeli army, however, has downplayed the losses, claiming only “injuries.”
These escalations came just one day after Abu Obeida issued a statement on Telegram warning that Israel would pay the price for its plan to occupy Gaza City “with the blood of its soldiers.”
Since 7 October 2023, and with full American backing, Israel has carried out a genocide in Gaza — a campaign of killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement — in defiance of all international appeals and International Court of Justice rulings to halt it.
The onslaught has so far resulted in the martyrdom of 63,371 Palestinians, the injury of 159,835, the disappearance of over 9,000 people, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands. Among the dead are tens of thousands of children and women. Meanwhile, famine has claimed the lives of 332 Palestinians, including 124 children.
