By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday claimed responsibility for the assassination of Abdul Fattah Al-Zeriei, the deputy minister for economy in Gaza, in an airstrike on Sunday that also killed his mother.
A military statement said that an airstrike “eliminated Abdul Fattah Al-Zeriei," claiming that he was an “operative in the Manufacturing Department of Hamas' Military Wing, who also served as Hamas' minister for economy in the Gaza Strip.”
The statement further claimed that Al-Zeriei was responsible for the distribution of fuel, gas, and funds for hostile purposes.
On Sunday, the Gaza Media Office said that Al-Zeriei was killed in an airstrike on a house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, which also claimed the life of his mother.
Since the onset of its military campaign against Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has targeted and killed numerous officials in the Palestinian enclave's administration.
Last week, both Iran and Hamas accused Israel of assassinating Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, in Iran's capital Tehran, an accusation that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at Israel's involvement.
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Nearly 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,400 injured, according to local health authorities.
Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio