CAIRO (Reuters) -The Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC), an allied faction of Hamas, said on Monday that one of its local armed leaders was killed by what it described as an Israeli undercover force near Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip. The group said Waseem Abdel-Hadi, a commander of its armed wing, was killed […]
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Palestinian militant faction says Israel killed a local leader in Gaza
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CAIRO (Reuters) -The Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC), an allied faction of Hamas, said on Monday that one of its local armed leaders was killed by what it described as an Israeli undercover force near Deir Al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip.
The group said Waseem Abdel-Hadi, a commander of its armed wing, was killed in what it called a “cowardly and treacherous assassination operation”.
The PRC, whose fighters joined the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel at a later stage, said Abdel-Hadi had played a role in developing its armed wing. It did not issue any direct threat of retaliation.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the reported killing.
Two years of intense Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 69,000 people, according to local health authorities. The war began after Hamas’ cross-border assault on Israel on October 7, 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
A ceasefire came into effect on October 10, but there have been sporadic outbreaks of violence since then.
Palestinian local health authorities said two people were killed by Israeli fire in two separate incidents in Shejaia suburb and Beit Lahiya town in the north of the enclave.
The Israeli military said in response to a Reuters request for comment that in one incident forces killed a person who crossed into an area of the enclave that is under Israeli control and planted suspicious objects in the ground adjacent to troops operating in the area.
It said it killed another person who it said approached forces in an area Israel still occupies, posing an immediate threat. It described both of the people as terrorists.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 268 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began. Israel said militants have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.
(Reporting by Nidal al-MughrabiAdditional reporting by Steve Scheer in JerusalemEditing by Frances Kerry)