A senior Hamas government official was among four people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City, Palestinian sources said.
A local official told the BBC that Ehab al-Gossein was appointed to run the Hamas government in Gaza City and northern Gaza three months ago.
Israeli forces say they attacked school building area in Gaza City It said “terrorists are active and hiding”.
It said it had taken steps to minimize the risk of harm to civilians.
Witnesses said the target of the attack was the Holy Family School next to the Holy Family Church west of Gaza City. The BBC understands that a large number of people took refuge in the building.
They said the airstrike targeted two classrooms on the first floor.
Ehab Al-Ghussein served as deputy minister of labor in the Hamas government and previously served as spokesman for the interior ministry. His death was not considered a military strike against Hamas, but he was considered a key figure in the Hamas government leadership.
Many other members of the Hamas government have been killed over the past nine months.
In an Israeli airstrike last November, the Deputy Minister of Culture and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council were killed along with other government employees and officials, as well as senior police officers.
Separately, the Israeli military issued another evacuation order for the central Gaza area.
Ibrahim Al-Barbari, 47, who lives in the Bani Amer neighborhood with his wife, five children, mother and sister, told the BBC that dozens of families were Leaving, women and children were also trapped in the Bani Amer community. Pack your bags and head west.
“We heard from our neighbors that we had to leave our home. We haven’t received any calls or texts from the army yet, but we have started packing and getting ready to move again.
“We have been living in a state of near famine for months.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that any ceasefire in Gaza must allow Israel to resume fighting afterwards until it achieves its goals.
He previously defined these as dismantling Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and repatriating hostages.
Hamas officials said they were awaiting Israel’s response to the latest ceasefire proposal.
Israel’s war was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took another 251 back to Gaza as hostages.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 38,098 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
