Israeli Strikes Target Senior Hamas Official in Gaza, Killing at Least Five

An Israeli air attack in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood on May 7 2026 killed Hamza al-Sharbasi and seriously wounded Azzam al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya. The strike also wounded at least nine other Palestinians, according to medics. Khalil al-Hayya is the head of Hamas’s political bureau and the group’s top negotiator in indirect talks with Israel.

Al Jazeera reported that there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

“I say to the occupation and to all who hear us, we are a people with a just cause. Neither the killing of our sons nor the martyrdom of our leaders will intimidate us,” Khalil al-Hayya said. “Our sons are the sons of the Palestinian people, and my son and the sons of others are all sons of our people without distinction.

Khalil al-Hayya had already lost three sons in previous Israeli attempts on his life. Two of Khalil al-Hayya’s sons were killed in Gaza in the 2008 and 2014 rounds of fighting. His third son was killed in an Israeli attempt to kill Hamas leadership in Doha last year.

Taher al-Nono, a Hamas official and an aide to Khalil al-Hayya, said targeting Azzam represented a peak of moral and ethical degradation. “Shelling and killing only make the negotiator more steadfast in his positions, in defending his people’s rights, and in their free will,” Taher al-Nono said. The attack on Azzam al-Hayya followed two other Israeli raids on the same day.

An Israeli raid occurred on Zeitoun neighbourhood in northern Gaza City on May 7 2026. The raid killed three Palestinians from one family and wounded several others as they attempted to set up a tent near the Salah al-Din Mosque, according to medics. An Israeli attack occurred on the al-Mawasi area on May 7 2026.

The strike targeted Naseem al-Kalazani’s vehicle and killed Naseem al-Kalazani, the head of the anti-narcotics force in Khan Younis. At least 17 others were wounded in the al-Mawasi attack, according to medics. Hamas condemned the violence as a “blatant violation” of a “ceasefire” agreement signed in October 2025.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 837 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire last year. Some 2,381 others have been wounded. In total, at least 72,619 people have been killed and 172,484 wounded since Israel launched its war on Gaza in 2023, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The majority of the victims since 2023 are children and women. Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s security cabinet met earlier this week to discuss renewing the war after Hamas refused to commit to Israel’s demand for full disarmament.