Israel claims to have assassinated Hamas commander in Gaza City

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Betul Yilmaz

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli army claimed Tuesday to have assassinated a Hamas commander in an airstrike in Gaza City.

A military statement said that Muhammad al-‘Ajlah was killed in a “precise strike” in the Shujaiya neighborhood on Sunday night.

The army claimed that al-‘Ajlah was responsible for arming Hamas fighters to launch attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas on the Israeli claim.

The Israeli army renewed a deadly assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

At least 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.