Israel says senior Hamas member seized as strikes kill three during Gaza raid
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Israel says senior Hamas member seized as strikes kill three during Gaza raid
Image source: AFP via Getty Images
Image caption: A car was destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood
By Yolande Knell, Middle East correspondent
Published 1 September 2026, 11:40 BST
Updated 1 minute ago
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has announced that a senior member of the Palestinian armed group Hamas has been captured.
This statement followed reports of a raid by Israeli special forces and an Israel-backed Palestinian militia in Gaza City.
According to local medics, Israeli air strikes at the same time killed at least two children and a woman. A third child lost their life in a separate incident in central Gaza.
Katz did not identify the Hamas commander or disclose details about the capture. He emphasized Israel’s policy of pursuing and destroying Hamas terror infrastructures.
"A short time ago, a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested – and this is our policy: we do not wait for threats, but pursue Hamas terrorists," Katz said after meeting Israelis in Netiv HaAsara, adjacent to northern Gaza.
Earlier, Palestinians in a crowded area of western Gaza City reported intense Israeli bombardment, resulting in two vehicles being destroyed. Videos captured chaotic scenes, with gunfire and strike aftermath.
Reports suggest that Israeli special forces and pro-Israeli Palestinian militiamen entered the area, but their presence was discovered. Some Israeli media sources indicate that only a local armed militia operated on the ground.
A Palestinian security source informed the BBC that the Israeli operation targeted a senior official in the Hamas internal security service.
Ismail al-Thawabta, a spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office, confirmed an Israeli special forces unit attempted a security operation in Gaza City. He stated that the unit was exposed during the mission, leading to Israeli strikes that resulted in casualties on both sides.
The Israeli military has only confirmed striking several targets in Gaza "in order to remove threats" to its troops, without acknowledging any injuries among their forces.
The current Gaza conflict began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the taking of 251 hostages.
Since then, over 73,460 individuals have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry’s reliable figures.
