Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday night that the commander of Hamas' Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza.

Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency said they had conducted a strike targeting a “senior” Hamas figure in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a joint statement issued later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz said the operation came after Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade commander and other senior figures were killed earlier this week.

They also said no militant was “immune” and that Hamas would not remain in Gaza.

Palestinian medical sources, however, reported that at least two Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others injured in the strike Tuesday evening.

The sources told Xinhua that the bodies of two people, including a child, along with several injured Palestinians were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Women and children were among those reportedly in critical condition.

Local residents and eyewitnesses said an Israeli aircraft fired three missiles at tents housing displaced Palestinians at al-Sumoud camp in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, setting the tents ablaze.

Israeli strikes in Gaza have continued despite a ceasefire that came into effect in October 2025.