Hamas: Senior official killed in Israeli attack

According to Palestinian sources, a senior Hamas government official was among the four people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City.

A local official told the BBC that Ehab Al-Ghussein was appointed to run the Hamas government’s affairs in Gaza City and northern Gaza three months ago.

The Israeli army said it had carried out an attack on the grounds of a school building in Gaza City where “terrorists were operating and hiding”.

It is said that measures have been taken to minimise the risk of harm to the civilian population.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack was directed at the Holy Family School in western Gaza, which is located next to the Holy Family Church. The BBC learned that many people sought shelter in the building.

The airstrike targeted two classrooms on the ground floor, it was said.

Separately, the Israeli military issued another evacuation order for a central part of Gaza city.

Local residents told the BBC that dozens of families had left the country and that he had also seen women and children walking west with bags.

Ibrahim Al-Barbari, 47, lives with his wife, five children, mother and sister in the Bani Amer neighborhood, which is part of the area whose residents were evacuated on army orders.

“We heard from the neighbors that we had to leave the house. We have not received any calls or text messages from the army, but we have already started packing our things to prepare for the next move.

“We have been living in a situation where famine is imminent for months.”

Ehab Al-Ghussein was formerly deputy labor minister in the Hamas government and before that spokesman for the Interior Ministry. His death is not considered a military blow against Hamas, but he was considered an important figure in the leadership of the Hamas government.

Numerous other members of the Hamas government have been killed in the past nine months.

An Israeli airstrike last November killed the deputy culture minister and the deputy speaker of the Legislative Council, as well as other government employees and officials, as well as high-ranking police officers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear several times that the aim of Israel’s war against Hamas is to destroy it both politically and militarily.

The Israeli war was triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, in which armed fighters led by Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage to Gaza.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, at least 38,098 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.