Hamas internal security chief killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

Hamas announced on Sunday that an Israeli airstrike killed a senior official in its internal security apparatus and his aide while they were traveling in a vehicle in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

The Gaza Interior Ministry and medics identified the deceased as Colonel Wael Mousa Al-Ladawi, director of the internal security service in the central governorate, along with Major Ramez Tawfiq Abu Zureiq, who was accompanying him.

The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike targeting a Hamas member in northern Gaza, without providing further details, according to Agence France-Presse.

The strike is part of a series of Israeli attacks in recent months targeting members and officials of Hamas police and security forces in Gaza, with Israel accusing several of them of ties to the group’s military wing and involvement in threats against its forces.

Hamas, for its part, says that targeting police and security institutions aims to spread chaos and insecurity in the enclave, and considers it a violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States in October.

According to health officials in Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,190 Palestinians—most of them civilians—since the ceasefire took effect. Hamas typically does not disclose the extent of its losses among its members.

Although the ceasefire agreement ended large-scale military operations, repeated Israeli attacks have continued. Israel says militants in Gaza have killed four of its soldiers since the agreement began.