Senior Hamas official killed in ‘Israeli’ attack on Gaza City: report

• The ‘Israeli’ military killed senior Hamas commander Imad al-Salem in a strike on a building in Gaza City, according to Hebrew media reports.
• The strike marked a renewed strain on the fragile cease-fire and coincided with ‘Israeli’ attacks that killed 22 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to Gaza officials.

The ‘Israeli’ military killed a senior Hamas official in an attack on a building in Gaza City, Hebrew news outlet “Walla” reported on Wednesday.

The senior official is Imad al-Salem, commander of Hamas Zeitoun Battalion and the deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade, according to the report by Walla.

Shortly afterwards. Gaza's civil defence agency said 22 people were killed in ‘Israeli’ strikes on Wednesday after ‘Israel's’ military claimed it was hitting Hamas targets throughout the Palestinian territory.

Raising an earlier toll of 11, a spokesman for the agency said 12 people were killed in the north of the Strip, in the Gaza City area, while a further 10 were killed in strikes in the south, around Khan Younis.

The military claimed that the attacks came in response to Hamas fighters allegedly opening fire toward an area where ‘Israeli’ forces were operating in Khan Younis.

Fragile Truce

The cease-fire, which took hold on Oct. 10, has been highly fragile despite the sporadic, unorganized strikes. The truce was mediated by the US and centered around the return of 48 ‘Israeli’ captives (living and deceased).

Although only the remains of three captives are reportedly left in Gaza, an agreement has not yet been reached on implementing Phase Two of the cease-fire plan proposed by President Donald Trump.

This phase includes the demilitarization of Hamas, the establishment of a transitional authority, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.