An Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in Gaza City's Nasr neighbourhood around dawn on Tuesday, September 29, killing Izz al-Din Al-Beik, head of Hamas' armed wing in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Health officials said another person later died from wounds suffered in the attack.
The strike hit a residential building in territory where a ceasefire is supposed to be holding. Medics described the target as an apartment block. Hamas confirmed Beik's death.
What Israel and Hamas Say
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military targeted and killed Beik. They said he had helped plan attacks and recruit militants.
Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the October ceasefire. In recent weeks, it has stepped up strikes on the group. The Israeli military says it killed at least 20 Hamas figures this month, identifying them as senior commanders or people who took part in the October 7, 2023, attacks or held Israeli hostages.
Hamas denies trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal. It accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza deal. The available reporting can't reconcile the two accounts, while civilians in Gaza live with the consequences of both.
The Human Toll Since the Truce
The numbers tell of a ceasefire that hasn't stopped the killing. At least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the truce took effect, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have died over the same period.
The wider toll is far larger. Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza. Israel launched that assault after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023. Israelis still live with that atrocity. Palestinians in Gaza live with the war that followed.
A Deal Stuck in Place
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire, agreed last year, calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory. Little progress has followed. Negotiators haven't agreed on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, and each issue depends on the other, leaving neither side willing to move first. Israeli airstrikes continue.
That gap has stalled reconstruction. Gaza City's residential districts, like the one hit on Tuesday, remain places where civilians live within reach of Israel's targeting of militants.
Why This Matters:
The strike shows how fragile the October ceasefire is. By the figures of Gaza health officials and the Israeli military, it has cost at least 1,400 Palestinian lives and four Israeli soldiers' lives. The core disputes over Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal remain unresolved, so reconstruction can't begin. Each strike on a residential building raises the risk to civilians and gives each side a reason to accuse the other of violating the truce. From a human rights perspective, a ceasefire that permits continued lethal strikes offers little protection to the people it was meant to spare. Without an agreement on those terms, the wider diplomatic effort stays stalled, and Gaza's civilians bear the cost.