A senior Hamas administration official was among four people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City, according to Palestinian sources.
A local official told the BBC that Ehab Al-Ghussein was appointed three months ago to manage Hamas government affairs in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said it carried out strikes in the area of a school building in Gaza City, where it said “terrorists were operating and hiding”.
The Israeli military said it had taken steps to minimize the risk to civilians.
Witnesses said the attack targeted the Holy Family School west of Gaza City, which is a building that also serves as a shelter for many people.
The airstrike targeted two classrooms on the ground floor, they said.
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Ehab Al-Ghussein was previously deputy labor minister in the Hamas administration and before that was interior ministry spokesman. Al-Ghussein’s death is not considered a major blow to Hamas militarily, but he was considered a key figure in the Hamas administration’s leadership.
Many other officials in the Hamas administration have been killed in the past nine months.
In an Israeli airstrike last November, the deputy culture minister and the deputy speaker of the legislative council were killed along with other government employees, officials and senior police officers.
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Separately, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for central Gaza City.
Ibrahim Al-Barbari, 47, who lives with his wife, five children, mother and sister in the Bani Amer neighbourhood, told the BBC that dozens of families were leaving their homes and women and children were carrying bags and heading west.
“We heard from our neighbors that we had to leave our homes. We haven’t received any calls or messages from the military, but we have started gathering our belongings to prepare to move once more.
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“We have been living in a state of near starvation for months.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the ceasefire deal in Gaza must allow Israel to continue fighting followingwards, until its goals are achieved.
He had previously defined these goals as the dismantling of Hamas’ military and governance capabilities, as well as the return of the hostages.
Hamas officials said they were awaiting Israel’s response to the latest ceasefire proposal.
The Israeli war was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, at least 38,098 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as a result of the Israeli offensive. (BBC/Z-3)
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