Gaza medics said Israel killed at least seven Palestinians, including a ‌child, in air strikes on Friday that Israel claimed targeted Hamas’s resistance chief.

Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the fate of Izz Al Din Al Haddad, who became the group’s military chief in the Gaza Strip after Israel killed commander ​Mohammad Sinwar in May 2025.

Radical leader of extremist Israeli regime Benjamin Netanyahu alleged in a joint statement with his defence minister that Haddad was an ​architect of the October 7, 2023, attacks that precipitated Israel’s two-year assault on the Palestinian territory.

He is the most senior ⁠Hamas official targeted with a strike by Israel since an October US-backed deal that was meant to halt fighting in Gaza.

The attack comes ​as Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza.

Medics in Gaza said at least seven people, including three ​women and a child, were killed and at least 50 were injured in airstrikes targeting an apartment and a vehicle.

It was not immediately clear if Haddad was one of the dead.

Israel blames Haddad

In their joint statement, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz alleged that Haddad “was responsible for the murder, abduction, and harm inflicted ​on thousands of Israeli civilians (and) soldiers.”

They did not say whether they thought Haddad had been killed.

Medics in Gaza said the first air strike targeted an apartment ​in the Gaza City area of Rimal, killing at least four and wounding several others.

A second Israeli air strike soon after targeted a vehicle on a nearby street, ‌killing three, ⁠the medics said.

Reuters video footage from the scene showed flames engulfing an apartment in a mostly bombed-out building.

Palestinians could be seen pulling at least one body from the wreckage, wrapped in a white plastic tarp.

Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, said hundreds of people had been living inside the building that was targeted.

“The missile was fired without any prior warning or notification. We are talking about some (dead).

We are talking about a big number ​of wounded, among them families,“ Basal said.

Israel ​has escalated its attacks in ⁠Gaza in the five weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian enclave.

The agreement reached last October ​halted major fighting in Gaza after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

But steps have faltered ​to reach a permanent ⁠settlement that would withdraw Israeli troops, disarm the Palestinian group and allow the ruined enclave to be rebuilt.

Israeli forces still occupy more than half of Gaza’s territory, where they have demolished most remaining buildings and ordered all residents out.

More than 2 million people now live in a tiny strip of territory along the coast, ⁠mainly in ​damaged structures or makeshift tents.

Some 850 Palestinians have ​been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire.