Israel claims killing Islamic Jihad military official in Gaza

Israel claimed on Friday that it killed a senior military figure from the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Israeli army said its forces targeted and eliminated Mohammad al-Jaabari, the deputy head of weapons production and official responsible for financing weapon manufacturing infrastructure.

There was no immediate comment from the Islamic Jihad movement on the Israeli claims.

Israel has continued its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border incursion by Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, it has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, levelled the territory and left most of the people hungry and homeless.

The Israeli military on Thursday claimed to have killed Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif in an airstrike on Khan Younis on July 13.

Hamas political chief Ismael Haniyeh was assassinated during a visit to the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday. Israel has not commented on his death directly.