Two Reported Killed in Northern Gaza Drone Strike as Israel Says It Targeted Terror Operatives
Palestinian reports said two men were killed in Jabalia on Saturday, while the Israeli military said it struck two terror operatives and was reviewing the results.
By Tomas Rahman ·
Two Palestinians were killed on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in Jabalia, on the northern edge of Gaza City, according to Palestinian media and officials.
Palestinian reports identified the dead as Momen Rizk al-Shandaghli and Mohammed Jihad Omar, and said several other people were wounded. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said the drone hit two Palestinians walking down a street in Jabalia, and that the casualties were brought to his hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces told The Times of Israel that it had targeted two terror operatives in the area and that the results of the strike were under review.
Israeli airstrikes have continued in Gaza more than a year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in the war that began with the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The military says its strikes target terrorists who pose a threat to troops or are involved in Hamas's efforts to rearm.
Also on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates strongly condemned an Israeli airstrike carried out Thursday on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. That strike targeted a senior Hamas commander and reportedly killed six people, including a surgeon, and wounded 20.
In a statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry called the strike on the medical complex "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law" and warned that continued Israeli military escalation exacerbates the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza. Abu Dhabi stressed the need to protect medical facilities, safeguard civilian lives and ensure "the immediate, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian relief and medical aid to the Gaza Strip," while calling on the international community to pursue "comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution."
The IDF said at the time that Thursday's strike targeted Muhammad Abu Ismail, commander of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade, and other terrorists it said were using the hospital as a military headquarters, adding that it took measures to minimize civilian casualties and had repeatedly warned against Hamas activity at the hospital. Neither the IDF nor Hamas has confirmed that Abu Ismail was killed. Hospitals are protected under international law but can lose that protection if used for military purposes, and Israel has repeatedly offered evidence it says shows Palestinian terror groups using Gaza's medical facilities as bases of operations because of their protected status. The UAE has had diplomatic ties with Israel since signing the Abraham Accords in 2020.
On Friday, the military said it had struck and killed more than 10 terror operatives across the Gaza Strip over the past week, including some who participated in the October 7 onslaught, and dismantled a weapons manufacturing workshop. It named Muhammad Atta Zaki Qishawi, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023; Ali Naim Ayesh Abu Osai of the Saif al-Islam terror faction, whom it accused of manufacturing weapons for Hamas at the destroyed workshop; and Hani Ibrahim Said Khudari, a supply platoon commander in Hamas's Sabra Battalion in Gaza City who also infiltrated Israeli territory during the attack. The army said the operatives were advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and acted to restore Hamas's capabilities "in systematic violation of the ceasefire."
Israel has increasingly targeted operatives in Gaza in recent months, including numerous terrorists who took part in the October 7 assault, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces. Implementation of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza has stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel refusing to withdraw from any part of the territory until that condition is met.
At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its toll, but says women and children make up around half of the dead.
