A rare Israeli airstrike Wednesday afternoon reportedly hit a barbershop in a city in southern Gaza, according to local Palestinian media. Footage from the scene showed heavy smoke rising and large crowds gathering nearby.
Attack on a barbershop in Khan Younis
Sources affiliated with Palestinian terror groups, quoted in Gaza-based media, denied claims that a senior operative had been assassinated in the strike. “Reports of a high-profile elimination are false,” they said, alleging that “the IDF struck empty towers.”
Separately, Palestinian reports stated that three people were killed in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza. Earlier in the day, additional strikes were reported in the Hamad neighborhood of northwest Khan Younis and near a mosque in the al-Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City. As of Wednesday evening, Israel had not issued a statement addressing these specific incidents.
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Gazan sources also reported a “heavy Israeli strike” near the Shuhada Shati School, adjacent to al-Quds University in western Gaza City, as well as another strike at the Tamos junction in the al-Nasr neighborhood.
In recent weeks, forces from the IDF’s Nahal Brigade have been operating in Beit Lahia under the command of the 162nd Division. During their deployment in the area, troops have targeted a wide range of terrorist infrastructure both from the air and on the ground, including operatives, weapons caches, booby-trapped buildings, and tunnel shafts.
In one documented operation, soldiers destroyed a booby-trapped building identified via drone surveillance. The structure concealed explosives hidden inside a sack, apparently intended to target Israeli forces.