Israel kills a senior Hamas military leader in Gaza

One of the top military leaders of the Islamist organisation Hamas in Gaza, Ayman Noufal, was killed on Tuesday in Israeli bombardment of the Strip, both the Palestinian group itself and the Israeli army confirmed. 

"The Al Qasam Brigades mourn the death of Ayman Noufal, called Abu Ahmad, a member of the general military council and leader of the brigades' central commandos, who was killed in a savage Zionist bombardment targeting the Bureiy camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip," a statement from Hamas's armed wing said. 

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli armed forces and the Shin Bet, Israel's secret intelligence service, confirmed Noufal's death in a joint statement, describing him as responsible for numerous attacks against Israel and in charge of selecting targets for rocket fire from Gaza. 

"Israeli fighter-bombers, under Shin Bet intelligence guidelines, killed Noufal, one of the senior officers of the Hamas terrorist organisation, commander of the central Gaza brigade and former head of Hamas military espionage," the statement said. 

It added that Noufal had also been involved in the development and production of weapons and was close to Mohamed Deif, considered the organisation's military leader. 

Over the past decade, Ayman Noufal, though little known outside security circles, has been considered one of the hard core Hamas members who rose to the top of the military branch because of his long experience in planning and executing attacks, smuggling raw materials into the Strip and producing weapons. 

This morning, the Israeli army also announced that it had killed Osama Mazini, head of the Shura Council, Hamas' highest political decision-making body, in a bombing raid in Gaza. 

The number of senior members of the Islamist group killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war on 7 October has now risen to at least eight, according to army reports. 

These include Ali Qad and Bilal al Kedra, two commanders of elite brigade units, and Merad Abu Merad, head of the air command. They are joined by the enclave's economy minister, the head of Hamas's International Relations Office and a brigade commander in the southern Strip.