An Israeli airstrike killed Izz al-Din Al-Beik, the head of Hamas' armed wing in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday morning, according to Reuters, citing both Israeli and Palestinian sources. The strike hit an apartment building in Gaza City's Nasr neighbourhood around dawn, medics said. The killing was confirmed by Hamas and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said Beik had been involved in planning attacks and recruiting militants.
The strike is the latest escalation in Israel's intensified campaign against Hamas figures in recent weeks, and comes against a strained US-brokered ceasefire that took effect last October.
A dawn strike in Gaza City
Israeli officials said the strike was targeted. Netanyahu and Katz said the Israeli military had tracked Beik and struck his location, describing him as a senior operational figure involved in the planning of attacks and the recruitment of militants, Reuters reported.
Medics and Hamas sources confirmed Beik's death in the strike on the apartment building in the Nasr neighbourhood. Hamas issued a statement confirming the killing, according to Reuters. Health officials also reported that another person died from their wounds after the attack.
A strained ceasefire and rising pressure
The killing fits a pattern. Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of the October ceasefire, and has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks. The Israeli military says it has killed at least 20 Hamas figures this month, including some it identified as senior commanders or people who took part in the October 7, 2023 attacks or held Israeli hostages, Reuters reported.
Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal, and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza deal. The US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and for Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli airstrikes have continued.
At least 20 Hamas figures have been killed in Israeli strikes this month, according to the Israeli military — Reuters, September 29, 2026
According to the territory's health officials, at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed, Reuters reported.
What to watch
The immediate questions are whether Hamas responds to the killing of a senior northern commander, and whether the latest strike further erodes the already fragile ceasefire framework. With negotiations on disarmament and withdrawal terms stalled, the pattern of targeted strikes against Hamas figures shows no sign of stopping.
