Gaza: Gaza's interior authorities confirmed that Mahmoud Salah, the director-general of Gaza's police department, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. In a statement, the interior authorities mourned the deaths of Salah and Hussam Shahwan, the head of Hamas' Internal Security in southern Gaza, saying they were killed while "performing their humanitarian and national duty in serving Palestinian people."

The Israeli military announced earlier in the day that it had killed Hussam Shahwan in an overnight drone strike on a humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, where displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, Xinhua news agency reported. Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, told Xinhua that the Israeli army killed at least 11 Palestinians in an attack on tents in the Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis. Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,581, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. Earlier Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning stating that Israel would intensify its military operations in Gaza if Hamas does not agree to a deal for the release of hostages "soon." In a public statement, Gallant said that should Hamas fail to permit the release of Israeli hostages, the group would face "blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time."

He emphasised that Israel's military would "escalate and intensify" its efforts against militant strongholds in Gaza until the hostages are freed and Hamas is "eliminated." Hamas seeks to prolong the truce, while Israel insists on the right to resume military action if it perceives a security threat. Another point of contention is Hamas's demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which Israel opposes, asserting the need for a continued military presence to maintain security control. 

(IANS)