Hamas leader's relatives killed in Israeli airstrike

Gaza, Oct 11

The relatives of Mohammed al-Deif, chief commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades -- armed wing of Hamas -- were killed during an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian media outlet reported on Wednesday.

An Israeli warplane targeted the Deif's brother's house in Khan Younis city, Xinhua news agency quoted the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Channel.

The airstrike destroyed the house and killed the commander's brother as well as the latter's son and daughter, the channel added.

It is unknown whether al-Deif was present in the house at the time of the bombing.

The channel also reported that the raid resulted in several people being injured.

Since Israel declared a war on Hamas in retaliation to the militant group's surprise attack on the country on October 7, the Jewish nation has been battering Gaza with continued airstrikes.

On Tuesday night, Israeli airstrikes destroyed more than 80 targets in Gaza.

Two Hamas political officials were killed in an Israeli raid on Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it struck naval targets in Gaza which were reportedly used by Hamas militants to carry out attacks on the Israeli coastline,.

The operation was carried out by IDF naval soldiers, IAF and the Israeli Artillery Corps, it said in a separate statement, adding that the targets included docks, which were hit using artillery fire from missile boats, military helicopters and ground artillery batteries.

In addition, Israeli naval forces killed a Hamas diver who attempted to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza shores earlier Wednesday, the IDF added.

According to the latest official Palestinian and Israeli statistics, at least 900 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army, while Hamas has killed more than 1,200 Israelis since the start of the conflict.