2 reported killed as IDF says it hit ‘senior’ Gaza terrorist after Hamas fired at troops
Army doesn’t immediately identity target, says strike was in response to ‘blatant violation’ of truce; Palestinian media reports home in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood was hit
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Two people were reportedly killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, which the IDF said targeted a “senior terrorist” who was allegedly advancing terror plots against Israeli troops.
The Israel Defense Forces said the strike was launched in response to an incident hours earlier, when Hamas operatives opened fire toward an area in the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces were operating.
The shooting incident was a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement, the military said.
The IDF did not name the target of the strike, and said further details would follow. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
According to Palestinian media, the strike it a home in Gaza City’s eastern Tuffah neighborhood, killing two people and wounding several more.
The dead were not immediately identified.
مشاهد من نقل جرحى بعد قصف طيران الاحتلال منزلًا لعائلة "علوان" في حي التفاح، شرق مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/FT2pBTmXnF
— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) January 7, 2026
Footage published by Palestinian media showed people wounded in the strike arriving at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, including an elderly woman in a bloodied headscarf and a young man lying on a stretcher.
Palestinian outlets identified the targeted home as belonging to a family, but did not indicate who the target may have been.
According to the reports, the home is on Tuffah’s Jaffa Road, which lies on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line.
مشاهد لنقل جرحى؛ جرّاء قصف طيران الاحتلال منزلًا لعائلة "علوان" في حي التفاح، شرق مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/SWWs3ENcxR
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) January 7, 2026
According to Hamas, Israel has killed over 400 people in the Strip since the ceasefire began in October, though the figures cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says most were terror operatives that posed a threat to troops stationed in Gaza.
Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with three soldiers killed in Gaza since the truce entered into force.
The Times of Israel Community.