Israel Escalates Gaza Campaign Against Hamas

At least 10 people, including five children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City late Wednesday, according to local hospitals. The apparent target was Imad Asleem, described as a local Hamas battalion commander, who was killed along with his teenage daughter, Israa. The Israeli military said it struck “two central Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip” but did not identify them. Witnesses and residents described devastation in and around the strike site, including a damaged apartment building and destroyed tents in a neighboring displaced persons camp, with around 20 others reportedly wounded. The article places the attack within a broader Israeli campaign of targeting Hamas leadership in Gaza. It notes that the strike followed the killing a day earlier of Mohammed Odeh, the newly chosen head of Hamas’s military wing, along with members of his family, and refers to earlier killings of other senior figures, including Izz al-Din al-Haddad and alleged Hamas financial and weapons-network personnel. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reiterated Israel’s stated aim to eliminate those responsible for the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack and to prevent Hamas from ruling Gaza. The piece also highlights the ongoing humanitarian toll of the wider Israel-Gaza war, including repeated strikes in central Gaza and Khan Younis, displacement of much of Gaza’s population, and the death toll reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. It ends by situating the strikes amid deadlocked indirect US-brokered negotiations over President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which would require Hamas to disarm and Israeli troops to withdraw.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has directed the Israel Defense Forces to expand control over Gaza to 70%, signaling a further tightening of Israeli military control in the territory. Speaking at a conference, Netanyahu said Israel currently controls about 60% of Gaza and that the next step is to reach 70%, framing the campaign as pressure on Hamas from all sides. His comments appear to conflict with the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which called for Israeli withdrawal to a demarcation line and for subsequent steps including Hamas disarmament and Israeli troop withdrawal. The article says the ceasefire has not halted violence. Israel has continued strikes in Gaza while indirect, US-brokered negotiations over Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan remain stalled. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 738 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, and the UN considers those figures reliable. Israeli officials have also made sharply hardline statements: Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to eliminate those responsible for the October 7, 2023 massacre and said Hamas would not rule Gaza, while far-right ministers have promoted what they describe as voluntary emigration of Palestinians, a policy critics say could amount to forced displacement. The report also details recent Israeli strikes, including attacks in Gaza City and Khan Younis that killed Hamas figures and civilians, among them children. It places the latest developments in the context of the broader war that began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, after which Israel launched a devastating military campaign that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, injured many more, and displaced much of Gaza’s population.

Israel says it has killed Mohammed Odeh, whom it identified as the new head of Hamas’ military wing, in an airstrike in northern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces said Odeh was responsible for planning and coordinating Hamas infiltration and attack targets during the October 7 massacre, and that he was involved in the murder, abduction, and wounding of Israeli civilians and soldiers. Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the strike as part of an ongoing campaign to pursue everyone involved in the October 7 attacks, vowing that Israel will eventually reach them all. The article places the strike in the broader context of Israel’s effort to dismantle Hamas leadership after the elimination of prior commanders, including Izz al-Din al-Haddad and, earlier, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar. According to the IDF, Haddad had taken over Hamas leadership and was working to rebuild the group’s military capabilities and infrastructure, which Israel calls a violation of the ceasefire agreement. The report also notes that Haddad had played a central role in the October 7 invasion plan and in the holding of Israeli hostages during the war. The piece relies heavily on statements from the IDF and Israeli officials to underscore Israel’s determination to continue strikes against Hamas leadership.