Five killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, IDF: Target was a Hamas leader

An Israeli strike on a residence in Gaza City killed five people, including four women, Palestinian media reported.

The IDF acknowledged responsibility for the attack and said the strike targeted one of Hamas’s senior figures in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Israeli military, the target was Ali al-Amoudi, described as the “right-hand man” of Yahya Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas in Gaza, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. However, Israeli authorities have yet to confirm whether al-Amoudi was killed or wounded.

An IDF spokesperson said al-Amoudi had taken part in planning Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. According to the spokesperson, the order for the strike was issued after he was located inside a residential building, describing it as another case of Hamas using civilians as human shields.

“Ali al-Amoudi is Hamas’s highest-ranking official in the Gaza Strip and is directly involved in terrorist activities, as well as efforts to rebuild the organization. He was targeted in order to eliminate the threat,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

The strike took place in the Rimal neighborhood, in the western part of Gaza City. The five victims were pulled from the damaged building, while a spokesperson for Al Shifa Hospital confirmed to AFP that they were four women and one man.

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency, said the building was hit by two missiles and that a fire broke out after the attack.