The Israeli occupation forces announced it had killed two individuals it claimed were field commanders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in strikes carried out in northern and southern Gaza over the past four days.
In a statement posted on July 5, 2026, on X by its Arabic spokesperson, Ella Waweya, the occupation forces said they had killed Mohamed Naguib Ashour, commander of Al-Qassam’s elite forces, in an airstrike on northern Gaza on the evening of July 4.
She added that they had also killed Tamer Said Abu Nahl, a cell commander in the same group, in another strike a week before, claiming the two men “were involved in advancing plots” that targeted Israeli forces. No further details were provided on the strike.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that two Palestinians had been killed and others seriously wounded in Israeli drone strikes on areas in northern and central Gaza on Saturday.
WAFA cited unnamed medical sources as saying that an Israeli drone strike targeted a group of civilians near Asqoula junction, east of Gaza City, while another strike hit near Abu Sharkh roundabout, west of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Separately, the BBC reported that Israeli forces had launched several raids on different parts of the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the attacks killed 16 people and wounded 16 over the past 48 hours alone.
According to the BBC, a Palestinian farmer was killed on July 3 after being targeted by a quadcopter drone east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
The same day at dawn, Israeli aircraft struck Ibn Marwan cemetery near the Shuja‘iyya junction east of Gaza City, with no injuries reported.
Israeli artillery also shelled the Tuffah neighborhood east of the city, amid continuous gunfire, while occupation forces carried out two home demolitions in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Hamas did not confirm or deny the Israeli statement regarding the assassination of Ashour and Abu Nahl. However, in a statement on its Telegram account, Hamas said that the occupation was inciting against the movement to justify its ongoing aggression.
Spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the rhetoric about Hamas rebuilding its military strength was an incitement aimed at justifying the continued assaults, daily killings, and violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Qassem stressed that Hamas and the resistance factions in Gaza are fully committed to the agreement ending the war on the Strip, calling on mediators and guarantor states to compel Israel to stop violating the deal.
The Israeli aggression on Gaza continues despite the ceasefire agreement signed between Hamas and Israel in October 2025. Since the agreement was signed, 1,053 people have been killed and 3,406 others wounded, bringing the total toll since Oct. 7, 2023, to more than 73,000 killed and over 173,000 wounded, according to the latest figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry.
