An Israeli-backed raid to arrest a Hamas fighter in Gaza City was uncovered while it was underway, resulting in airstrikes to cover the withdrawal, which killed at least three Palestinians, including two children, according to Gaza officials.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that a senior Hamas militant had been arrested, while Hamas official Ismail al-Tawabta said that an Israeli special forces unit attempted to carry out an operation in Gaza City before it was detected.
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According to al-Tawampta, director of the Hamas government’s press office in Gaza, Israel subsequently launched intense airstrikes, killing and wounding several people.
An Israeli security official stated that the man who was arrested is the head of Hamas’s internal security service.
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Israeli media reported that the raid may have been carried out by members of an Israeli-backed paramilitary organization operating from Israeli-controlled areas inside Gaza.
Eyewitnesses said that Israeli fighter jets fired at least 12 missiles near the Katiba area in western Gaza City, an area filled with displaced families.
At least three people were killed and several others were wounded in the bombing, medical sources said.
Two vehicles were hit and completely destroyed. Another child was killed by Israeli fire in central Gaza, medical sources said.
In a statement issued today, the Israeli military reported that it struck several targets in the Gaza Strip to neutralize threats to Israeli security forces.
Katz did not provide details about the arrest operation or the name of the Hamas militant.
“This is our policy: we don’t wait for threats, but rather we hunt down Hamas terrorists, thwart them, and destroy their terrorist infrastructure,” said Katz, speaking from the community of Netiv HaAsara near the border with northern Gaza.
In a separate incident, medical sources stated that a girl, Israa al-Hisi, was killed and two other people were wounded when Israeli forces, operating east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, opened fire in the area.
Source: CNA
