JERUSALEM, May 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Israeli military said Wednesday a
recent air strike had killed the commander of Hamas's naval unit in Gaza
City, accusing of "attacks" against troops during the seven-month war.

Mohammed Ahmed Ali was killed in an air strike "in the past day", the
military said in a statement.

Hamas did not immediately comment when asked about Ali's killing.

Sources in the Palestinian militant group said he was a member of its armed
wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.

The military statement said that "during the war, Ali was responsible for
attacks on Israeli territory and against IDF (army) ground troops operating
in the Gaza Strip" including in central Gaza over the past week.

Hamas's armed wing has been engaged in fierce battles with Israeli forces
across the Gaza Strip since war erupted on October 7 following the
Palestinian group's attack on southern Israel.

Al-Qassam Brigades regularly launch rockets towards Israeli territory, and
claimed a barrage on Sunday at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and
Gaza that killed four soldiers.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people,
mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli
figures.

The Israeli army did not say whether it believed Ali had been involved in
planning or executing the attack.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 34,844
people, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run
territory's health ministry.