IDF airstrikes hit multiple locations in Lebanon Thursday, while Palestinian officials reported a targeted killing in Gaza, a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced what he described as a move to Phase II of former President Donald Trump’s proposed framework.
Palestinian sources said Mohammed al-Holy, a local commander in Hamas’ military wing in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, was killed in an airstrike. Al-Holy was considered a senior figure within the terror group.
IDF attacks in Lebanon today
(Photo: IDF )
Al Jazeera reported that al-Holy, also known as Abu Fouad al-Holy, was killed along with his wife and daughter in the strike. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said six other people were also killed. The IDF had not commented on the reports and did not confirm the killing.
Hamas condemned the strike, calling it a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” In a statement, the group said Israel was failing to uphold the agreement and was working “day and night to undermine it, in preparation for renewing a war of extermination against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that Israel was continuing to undermine the ceasefire through what he described as ongoing violations. He called on the U.S. administration to pressure Israel to adhere to the agreement.
“The ball is now in the court of Trump and Witkoff,” Hamdan said, adding that Washington must demonstrate Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire. He said Hamas had complied with the agreement despite what he called its inherent injustice and warned that the killing of a commander in the Qassam Brigades marked a dangerous escalation that revealed what he described as Israel’s intentions.
The reported killing came shortly after the Israeli military said forces from the 7th Brigade combat team operating in southern Gaza identified an armed individual who crossed a designated security line and approached troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat.
“Immediately after the identification, the forces eliminated the terrorist in order to remove the threat,” the IDF said. The military added that in several separate incidents on Wednesday in both southern and northern Gaza, troops killed additional terrorists who crossed the security line and approached deployed troops in ways that posed an immediate danger. “IDF forces under Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to act to remove any immediate threat,” the statement said.
Earlier Thursday, Israel also carried out a series of strikes in Lebanon, hitting targets both in the country’s south and deeper inland. In a statement, the Israeli military said it struck weapons depots and additional infrastructure used by Hezbollah to advance attacks against Israeli forces and Israel.
Lebanese media reported that the strikes targeted the Hermel area in eastern Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley, as well as the village of Mashghara. The IDF said that in another strike deep inside Lebanon, it hit an underground weapons storage facility used by Hezbollah. It said extensive measures were taken ahead of the strikes to reduce the risk to civilians, including the use of precision-guided munitions, advance warnings to residents, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
Hezbollah’s activity at the sites, the IDF said, violated understandings between Israel and Lebanon and posed a threat to Israel.