Gaza mosques announce Hamas navy chief’s demise

Mosques in ‌northern Gaza have introduced ‌Hamas’ navy wing ‌commander has died, a day after Israel’s navy reported ‌it had ‌focused ⁠the armed wing chief in air strikes.

Witnesses mentioned mosques in Gaza Metropolis had ⁠introduced ‌Izz al-Din al-Haddad’s “martyrdom”.

There was no fast remark from ‌Hamas on the destiny of the militant group’s navy chief.

Israel has not mentioned ‌if he was killed within the air strikes on Friday.

Israeli Prime ⁠Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned in a joint assertion along with his defence minister on Friday that Haddad had been focused, although they didn’t say if he had been killed.

They mentioned Haddad was an architect of the October 7 assaults launched by Hamas militants in 2023 that precipitated Israel’s ongoing assault on ⁠Gaza.

Haddad, who grew to become the group’s navy chief ‌in Gaza after Israel’s killing of Mohammad Sinwar final Might, “was chargeable for the homicide, abduction, and hurt inflicted ‌on 1000’s of Israeli civilians (and) troopers,” they mentioned.

Israel and Hamas stay deadlocked in oblique talks to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza that’s meant to finish greater than two years of preventing.

On Friday, medics in Gaza mentioned at the very least seven folks, together with three ladies and a baby, had been killed ‌and at the very least 50 injured in air strikes concentrating on an condo and a car. It’s not clear if Haddad was one of many lifeless.

Israel has escalated its assaults in Gaza within the weeks since halting its joint bombing with the US in Iran, redirecting its hearth again on the ruined Palestinian territory the place the navy says that Hamas fighters are ⁠tightening their grip.

Elsewhere within the Center East, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of a ceasefire.

Lebanon has been swept into the broader battle between the US and Israel on one aspect and Iran on the opposite. Following US-Israeli assaults on Iran on 28 February, the Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel on 2 March.

Israel’s bombing marketing campaign and floor invasion of Lebanon’s south displaced about 1.2 million folks, earlier than US President Donald Trump introduced a ceasefire final month following preliminary talks between the 2 nations’ ambassadors within the US.

ISIS’ Abu-Bilal al-Minuki additionally killed

On Friday, Trump mentioned Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in control of ISIS globally, was killed in an operation carried out by US and Nigerian forces.

It was a strike that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described as “a big instance of efficient collaboration within the battle towards terrorism.”

“Tonight, at my route, courageous American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously deliberate and really complicated mission to remove essentially the most lively terrorist on the planet from the battlefield. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in control of ISIS globally, thought he might disguise in Africa, however little did he know we had sources who stored us knowledgeable on what he was doing,” Trump mentioned on Reality Social, with out disclosing the precise location of the operation.

In a press release posted on X, Tinubu mentioned early assessments confirmed the elimination of al-Minuki — often known as Abu-Mainok — together with a number of of his lieutenants, throughout a strike on his compound within the Lake Chad Basin.

Tinubu mentioned Nigerian forces labored intently with their US counterparts in what he referred to as a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State.

Al-Minuki, a Nigerian nationwide, was designated a “specifically designated world terrorist” by the Biden administration in 2023, in response to the US federal register.

Trump, who has beforehand accused Nigeria of failing to guard Christians from Islamist militants within the northwest, thanked the Nigerian authorities for its partnership within the operation.

Nigeria denies discriminating towards any faith, saying its safety forces goal armed teams that assault each Christians and Muslims.

The US carried out strikes concentrating on Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria in December. Since then, Washington has deployed drones and 200 troops to supply coaching and intelligence help to the Nigerian navy towards Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies which can be spreading throughout West Africa.

The US forces had been working in a strictly non-combat position, Nigerian navy officers mentioned earlier this yr.

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