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A senior Hamas spokesman was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike on the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, Palestinian media reported Thursday.
Abdul Latif al-Qanou, a longtime Hamas official and media spokesperson, was reportedly killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the tent where he was staying, according to Shehab, a Palestinian news agency affiliated with Hamas. The group’s Al-Aqsa TV channel cited medical sources saying several others were wounded in the strike.
Al-Qanou had served as one of Hamas’s main spokesmen in Gaza, regularly delivering the group’s positions on the conflict with Israel and broader Palestinian political issues. His most recent public statement came Saturday, in response to a rare call from a Fatah spokesman in Gaza for Hamas to relinquish control of the territory.
Al-Qanou said the group remained engaged in cease-fire negotiations based on a proposal from U.S. envoy Steve Wychek and other ideas from mediators. “We are open to any arrangement for the administration of Gaza that is based on consensus,” he said. “We have no desire to govern Gaza—what concerns us is national unity, and we are committed to its outcome.”
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
Separately, multiple airstrikes were reported across Gaza overnight. Several people were wounded in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the territory, and one person was reportedly killed in a strike on a tent sheltering displaced people in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. Six people were reported killed in an airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City, and additional strikes were reported in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Strike in Lebanon targets Hezbollah commander
Also overnight, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli drone strike killed one person in the town of Maaroub in southern Lebanon’s Tyre District. Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets identified the individual as Hassan Sabra, a commander from the village of al-Qantara. The reports have not been independently confirmed.
Airstrikes reported in western Syria
Around 3:30 a.m., Arabic-language media including Al Jazeera reported Israeli airstrikes in the coastal Syrian city of Latakia. Syria’s state news agency SANA later said Israeli jets struck multiple locations in Latakia and its port. There were no immediate reports of casualties, though officials were assessing the damage.
A source cited by Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen network said the targets included al-Bayda port and Brigade 110, reportedly used by foreign fighters including Chechen and Uzbek elements. Israeli activity was also reported overnight in Syria’s Quneitra region near the village of Qom Mahres.
Israel has previously carried out strikes in Syria and Lebanon targeting Iranian and Hezbollah positions, often without confirming specific operations.