An Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in Gaza City’s Nasr neighbourhood around dawn on Tuesday, killing Hamas commander Izz al-Din Al-Beik and another person, medics and health officials said. Shifa Hospital officials said five others were wounded. Israeli air attacks continued despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, while negotiations over disarming Hamas and withdrawing Israeli troops made little progress.
Gaza under fire
Reuters identified Al-Beik as the head of Hamas’ armed wing in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military targeted and killed him, alleging he had helped plan attacks and recruit militants. Hamas confirmed his killing in a statement.
The Israeli military said it killed at least 20 Hamas figures that month. It identified some as senior commanders or participants in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and said others had held Israeli hostages. Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the October ceasefire. Hamas denies trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal, and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza deal.
At least 1,400 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to territory health officials. The Israeli military said four Israeli soldiers had been killed. Palestinian authorities said more than 73,000 people had died in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.
The Gaza Health Ministry maintains detailed records that the Associated Press reported are generally seen as reliable. The ministry doesn’t distinguish civilians from militants. It said women and children made up around half of the fatalities.
Ceasefire terms remain unresolved
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreed last year called for Gaza’s eventual reconstruction. Negotiators hadn’t agreed on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, leaving talks with little progress as Israeli airstrikes continued.
The Gaza strike came as Qatar relayed messages between the United States and Iran in a separate effort to end the wider Middle East war. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said mediation was ongoing and the parties were exchanging messages. “Current efforts are focused on building common ground between the parties,” he said.
The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran in February, and Iran responded with attacks on U.S. assets across the region. A ceasefire agreement followed in April. Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June to halt hostilities and maintain navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but disagreements about security in the waterway stalled implementation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to discuss its nuclear programme and other issues, but wouldn’t accept “bullying or coercion.” U.S. President Donald Trump denied offering sanctions relief or releasing frozen Iranian funds in exchange for steps on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says it has the right to domestic nuclear-energy capacity.
Hormuz and regional pressure
Iran threatened on Tuesday to attack infrastructure around the Middle East if its security wasn’t guaranteed. Chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, “if our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will remain safe.” Iran maintained a blockade on commercial shipping through Hormuz, while the U.S. military maintained a counter-blockade of Iranian ports to prevent Tehran from exporting oil.
Iran said its preconditions for ending the blockade included a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, lifting sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. The competing blockades and continued strikes leave regional ceasefire arrangements unresolved. Palestinians in Gaza continue to face Israeli air attacks and mounting deaths reported by local health officials.