At least seven Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in two Israeli airstrikes targeting a residential building and a civilian vehicle in Gaza City, according to medical sources.
The attacks took place on May 15, coinciding with the 78th anniversary of the Nakba – the day of remembrance for the roughly 750,000 Palestinians who were displaced from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied the establishment of the state of Israel.
Israel claimed it carried out an airstrike targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas's armed wing in Gaza. In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they were targeting “one of the architects” of the October 7 attack. The statement did not specify whether Haddad was killed. Hamas has not commented, and Al Jazeera could not independently verify the Israeli claim.
Medical sources said three victims died in the strike on a civilian vehicle, and four others were killed in the attack on a building in the Rimal neighborhood, western Gaza City. Among the dead were three women and a child. At least 45 others were wounded, some critically.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza reported that the attack involved at least four missiles, sparking a large fire that engulfed the targeted residential building. Chaos ensued at the scene as Palestinians were forced to flee.
A spokesman for Gaza's civil defense force said hundreds of people were living in the targeted building, and the attack occurred without warning. “We are talking about a number of dead. We are talking about a large number of wounded, including families,” he said.
The statement from Netanyahu and Katz said they targeted Haddad because he was “responsible for the murder, abduction, and wounding of thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.” The statement also accused Haddad of being an obstacle to the Trump Gaza peace deal because he refused “to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.”
Despite the peace plan, fighting continues in Gaza. Since the “ceasefire” was established last October, nearly 850 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Many Palestinians had hoped the ceasefire would bring “relief,” but it continues to deliver “tragedy.”
