Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida killed Gaza, said Israel

Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Hamas armed wing, was killed in an air strike in Gaza City, Israel said.

The Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz congratulated Israeli Defense forces (FDI) and the Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, for “impeccable execution” in an article on X.

He did not give any details on the time or the location of the operation, but the FDI said earlier that his plane had attacked “a key terrorist” on Saturday in the Al-Rimal district, which prompted reports in the Israeli media that Obeida had been the target.

Hamas has not confirmed its death. The Palestinian armed group said dozens of civilians had been killed and injured in Israeli strikes in a residential building in the district.

Katz warned on Sunday that much more of Obeida’s “criminal partners” would be targeted with “the intensification of the campaign in Gaza” – a reference to a recently approved Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City.

In addition, Tsahal and Shin Bet offered more details on the strikes on Saturday that targeted Hamas spokesperson.

They declared in a joint declaration that the operation had been “made possible due to the previous information collected by (Shin Bet) and the FDI Information Directorate” which had identified its hiding place.

Five missiles struck the second and third floor of the six -story building simultaneously in two different directions.

The targeted apartment had been used as dentist surgery. Witnesses reported hundreds of thousands of dollars flying in the air due to the strike, with large stolen sums later by Hamas members.

Obeida was among the remaining upper members of the Hamas military wing before its fatal attack on October 7, 2023 against southern Israel.

The joint declaration said that Obeida “was the public face of the Hamas terrorist organization” and “the disseminated propaganda of Hamas”.

In recent years, Obeida – considered around 40 years old – has delivered a number of long diatribes against Israel in the name of the Hamas military wing, the Al -Qassam brigades.

Always masked in a Palestinian scarf, he became an idol for supporters of Hamas through the Middle East.

In what could have been his final speech on Friday, Obeida said that the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages would be the same as that of Hamas combatants, warning Israel against his planned invasion of Gaza City.

Hamas accused the FDI on Saturday of hitting a residential building in the densely populated al-rimal district of Gaza City.

Local journalists reported that at least seven people had been killed and 20 injured in strikes, with children among the victims.

The FDI said that before the attack, “many measures have been taken to reduce the chances of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, air observations and additional information information”.

BBC News has not been able to independently check the statements of the FDI or Hamas.

In early August, the Israeli security firm approved a plan to take control of Gaza City in a new offensive, in order to end the 22 -month war.

The UN has repeatedly warned that a complete military control would risk “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The UK ambassador to Israel said it would be “a huge mistake”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to defeat Hamas and challenged international criticism of his plans to widen the war.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza began in response to the October 7 attack led by Hamas, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Since then, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health managed by Hamas.

While the operation to capture Gaza City has not yet started seriously, Israeli attacks against the city – where nearly a million people live – are underway.

The Israeli army said it was planning to evacuate the entire population of Gaza City and move it to shelters in the south before the troops settled. Most of the Gaza population has already been moved several times during the conflict.

It is estimated that more than 90% of the houses in the city are damaged or destroyed, and health, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed.

Last week, famine conditions were confirmed in Gaza City and its surroundings for the first time.