3 weeks ago
Israeli Military Says Airstrike Targeted Hamas Commander in Gaza
An airplane attack in Gaza left a Palestinian man very badly hurt.
The Israeli military says the man was a leader of a group called Hamas and was planning to attack Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian doctors and people who saw what happened said the man was riding on a small vehicle called a rickshaw when he was wounded.
This was the first attack like this in more than a week.
Israel had stopped most of its big attacks after the United States asked it to follow President Donald Trump's plan to end the war.
In October, both sides agreed to a ceasefire, which means they stopped fighting, after two years of war.
Even after the fighting stopped, more than 1,250 people in Gaza have been killed, and most of them were not fighters.
During the same time, four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants.
The Israeli military says it will stay in the area and keep acting against any danger to its soldiers.
People disagree about what happened, and the two sides see the same event very differently.
An Israeli airstrike critically wounded a Palestinian man in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas commander planning attacks against Israeli troops operating in Gaza.
It was the first such airstrike in over a week after Israel scaled back major attacks under U.S. pressure.
Israeli fire has killed more than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, since a U.S.-backed ceasefire in October.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period, according to an Israeli tally.
- Who
- The Israeli military conducted the strike; the wounded man was described by Israel as a Hamas commander planning attacks against its troops.
- What
- An Israeli airstrike critically wounded a Palestinian man riding on a rickshaw in Beit Lahiya, the first such airstrike in over a week.
- Where
- Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.
- When
- August 12, the date of the Reuters report, following a ceasefire that halted two years of full-scale war in October.
- Why
- The Israeli military said it acted to remove the threat of a Hamas commander planning attacks against its troops; the strike came after Israel scaled back major attacks under U.S. pressure to implement President Donald Trump's plan to end the war.
Palestinian and Witness Perspective
Israeli Military Perspective
Who was targeted in the strike
Palestinian and Witness Perspective
Palestinian medics and witnesses described the wounded man as riding on a rickshaw in Beit Lahiya, and the report notes most of the more than 1,250 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire were civilians.
Israeli Military Perspective
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas commander planning attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza and was carried out to remove the threat.
Casualty accounting since the ceasefire
Palestinian and Witness Perspective
It is unclear how many of those killed might be militants because Hamas does not usually disclose information about dead fighters, while most of the dead are reported to be civilians.
Israeli Military Perspective
The Israeli military said its forces would remain deployed under the Southern Command in accordance with the agreement and would continue operations against immediate threats; four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in the same period.
Key facts
- Incident
- Israeli airstrike critically wounding a Palestinian man
- Location
- Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip
- Israeli Military Claim
- Targeted a Hamas commander planning attacks against Israeli troops
- First Such Airstrike In
- Over a week
- Palestinians Killed Since Ceasefire
- More than 1,250, most of them civilians
- Israeli Soldiers Killed Since Ceasefire
- 4
- Ceasefire Context
- U.S.-backed ceasefire halted two years of full-scale war in October
- Report
- Reuters, August 12
Sources
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