Israel says it has killed the head of weapons production in Hamas’ military wing in a strike in the Gaza Strip.

The civil defence agency and medical sources in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory told AFP an Israeli strike killed five people in the Tel al-Hawa district, southwest of Gaza City.

When contacted by AFP earlier on Saturday, the army did not say whether the strike reported in Tel al-Hawa was the same as the one mentioned in an army statement before the announcement that it had killed Hamas’ Raad Saad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that “in response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the Yellow Area of the Gaza Strip... [they] instructed the elimination of the terrorist Raad Saad”.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli troops have withdrawn to positions behind the so-called Yellow Line, though they are still in control of more than half the territory.

Netanyahu and Katz described Saad as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

The Israeli army said Saad was the head of the weapons production headquarters of Hamas’ military wing who led the group’s “force build-up”.

Family sources confirmed his death to AFP and said the funeral would be held on Sunday.

Israel’s military earlier on Saturday said two reserve soldiers were lightly injured “as a result of an explosive device that detonated during an operation to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza”.

The ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 has halted the fighting between Israel and Hamas, but it remains fragile with each side accusing the other of violating its terms.

Burnt-out car

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza civil defence which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said five people were killed after “a civilian jeep-type vehicle was targeted near the Nabulsi roundabout in Tel al-Hawa”.

Bassal said the “charred” bodies were taken to Al-Shifa hospital after “Israeli warplanes targeted the civilian vehicle with three missiles, causing it to burn and its destruction”.

The hospital’s emergency department confirmed to AFP the arrival of the five bodies and said more than 25 people were injured in the strike.

AFP footage showed a mangled car with vehicle parts scattered around next to other debris.

“Warplanes fired several missiles at the vehicle, setting it ablaze. Residents rushed to extinguish the fire, and charred body parts were scattered on the ground,” a witness, who did not wish to give his name for security reasons, said in the Tal al-Hawa area.

Another witness, a 34-year-old man living in a tent in the Tel al-Hawa area, said he “saw several Hamas members arrive at the site of the attack”, without providing further details.

Civil defence agency spokesman Bassal also said a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy were killed by Israeli fire in two separate incidents in Gaza.

- Agence France-Presse