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Israel-Gaza war
WorldMiddle East

Israel-Gaza war: leading Hamas member killed in air strike, IDF says

  • Hamas member was one of the fighters responsible for guarding captive Israeli soldier
  • Also on Sunday, Israel said it had opened a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza

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Smoke billows after an explosion in northern Gaza on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
Agencies

The Israeli military said on Sunday that a leading member of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was killed in an air strike in Gaza on Friday.

Israel said the man belonged to one of Hamas’ combat units and was one of the Hamas fighters responsible for guarding the captive Israeli soldier Noa Marciano.
Marciano was abducted to Gaza after the attacks of October 7 and later killed there. The Israeli military recovered the 19-year-old’s body in November and brought it back to Israel.
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On October 7, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took a further 250 people hostage to Gaza.

Following an exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, it was believed until recently that 132 of them were still being held in Gaza. However, it is now assumed that many of them are no longer alive.

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Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had opened a new humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza in coordination with the United States.

The crossing, called “Western Erez”, was opened in northern Gaza to transfer humanitarian aid, the military said in a statement.

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