The Israeli military announced on Sunday evening that it had killed an official responsible for recruiting new members into the ranks of Hamas in Gaza.
Spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on the X platform that the official, Mahmoud Mohamed Abd Hazz, was killed in the central camps of the Gaza Strip.
Adraee added that Hazz was “militarily responsible for recruiting new elements into the ranks of Hamas, especially within the Al-Zaytoun Brigades.”
Furthermore, the Palestinian News Agency reported on Sunday that an Israeli airstrike on a house in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, resulted in casualties, including dead and wounded, along with several missing individuals.
The agency noted that at least seven people were killed in the airstrike, including children and women, in a family home in Khirbet Al-Adas, north of Rafah.
The Israeli military also launched a raid on a house in the Al-Turans area of Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
In the meantime, US Vice President Kamala Harris called on the Israeli government on Sunday to immediately cease fire in the Gaza Strip and pressured Israel to increase the flow of aid to alleviate what she described as “inhumane conditions” and a “humanitarian disaster” among the Palestinian people.
Harris’s comments are among the sharpest made so far by senior leaders in the US government, urging Israel to ease the situation in Gaza.
In a speech during a visit to Selma, Alabama, Harris urged Hamas to accept a hostage release agreement that would implement a six-week ceasefire and allow more aid to flow.
“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane, and our shared humanity obliges us to act. The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses,” Harris stated.
An Israeli newspaper reported that Israel boycotted ceasefire talks in Gaza on Sunday after Hamas refused its demand to send a complete list of living hostages.
“Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is an agreement on the table. As we said, Hamas needs to agree to it,” Harris mentioned.
“Let’s implement a ceasefire. Let’s return the hostages to their families. And let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza,” she continued.
It is noted that the Israeli military operations in Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7 resulted in 30,410 deaths, the vast majority of whom were civilians, women, and children, according to the health ministry in the strip.
International calls for a ceasefire are increasing in the face of the dire situation for Palestinians in the besieged strip, which is threatened with famine and subjected to ongoing Israeli bombardment.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas, particularly since October 7, has seen significant developments and casualties on both sides. According to Al Jazeera, as of early March 2024, the death toll in Gaza has reached over 30,000, with a significant number of children and women among the dead. The conflict has also resulted in the injury of more than 71,000 people in Gaza, with thousands more missing. In Israel, the revised death toll is about 1,139, with over 8,730 injuries reported.
Reuters highlighted Israel’s combat losses, reporting that 10 Israeli soldiers, including high-ranking officers, were killed in a single day in the Shejaia district of Gaza City, marking one of the heaviest single-day losses for Israel since the conflict escalated. The report also mentioned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with widespread displacement and damage to infrastructure, exacerbating the suffering of civilians.