Israel claims killing Hamas commander in northern Gaza

The Israeli military said on Friday that it killed a Hamas commander, named Amjad Muhammad Hassan Shaer, in an air strike in northern Gaza. It said he was the head of the counter intelligence directorate in the general security apparatus of the group.

In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that Hassan was responsible for “suppressing opposition to Hamas’ rule, thwarting espionage against the terrorist organisation, and securing senior officials and assets of the terrorist organisation within the Gaza Strip and outside of it”.

It added that Israeli warplanes have bombed areas across Gaza “dozens of times” over the past 24 hours, in addition to ground attacks across the enclave.

Earlier in the day, the death toll from Israeli attacks stood at 11