At least 85 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza during the night against Thursday, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities. Several homes have been attacked in cities such as Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Beit Lahia.
The Hamas-led civil defense authority updated the death toll to over 590 people since Israel resumed attacks earlier in the week, at least 190 of whom are children.
Four employees from the UN's Palestine agency Unrwa have been killed in the attacks.
Intelligence Chief Killed
In connection with the offensive in Gaza, Israel has also introduced restrictions on Palestinians moving between the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip. Palestinians are warned against using the main highway to travel between the areas.
Israel's military announced on Thursday evening that the head of Hamas' internal security service has been killed in an air strike. Israel named the leader as Rashid Jahjouh, who was killed sometime in the past two days. He took over the role after his predecessor Sami Oudeh was "eliminated in July 2024", according to the Israeli military's spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X.
A leader of the Islamist extremist group Islamic Jihad has also been killed in a separate attack, according to Israel.
Hamas' armed branch said on Thursday that the group has fired at least three rockets towards Tel Aviv in response to the "massacres" of civilians in Gaza, reports news agency AP. No one was injured.
First Rocket Attack
The Israeli military said that projectiles fired from Gaza triggered air raid sirens in central Israel. It is seen as the first rocket attack from Gaza since Israel resumed its attacks on the area on Tuesday.
The ceasefire began on January 19 and was initially intended to last for six weeks. However, since a second, more in-depth phase could not be agreed upon, the conditions of the first phase continued to apply for a few more weeks – until Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza.
A representative of Hamas says that despite everything, they would still like to hold on to the original agreement.
The Gaza war began with Hamas' large-scale attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
