Israel claims to kill Hamas senior commander in deadly airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp

The Israeli army claimed Tuesday to have killed a senior military commander from the Palestine resistance group, Hamas, with deadly airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp that left hundreds killed and injured.

The Times of Israel news website cited a statement by the army that said it killed a top military commander in the group's armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, in northern Gaza.

It identified him as Ibrahim Biari and claimed he was a commander of the Jabalia Battalion within the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli army also claimed that Biari was part of the leading commanders in Hamas to supervise the group's surprise attack Oct. 7 against Israeli locations surrounding Gaza.

Hamas denied the Israeli report and said the claim was an attempt to justify its "heinous crime" on the Jabalia camp.

A series of Israeli airstrikes on the refugee camp led to hundreds of casualties, according to the Interior Ministry in the besieged enclave.

Victims mostly included women and children, it said, adding that Israeli warplanes destroyed the entire residential square known as Block 6.

The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive Hamas conducted earlier this month.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, including 8,525 Palestinians and 1,538 Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire, saying it would be a "surrender" to Hamas.