Rushdi Abualouf,Gaza correspondentand Ian Aikman
Reuters
At least three Palestinians were killed and dozens more were injured in a major Israeli air strike targeting a residential building in one of Gaza City's busiest market areas, local medics and witnesses said.
The strike hit the upper three floors of the al-Kayali building in the centre of Gaza City, where streets were busy with shoppers ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office earlier said the Israeli military had targeted Hamas's armed wing commander Mohammed Odeh, days after his predecessor was killed in a similar attack.
It is the latest deadly Israeli strike on Gaza despite a ceasefire with Hamas being in place.
Neither Hamas nor Israel has commented on whether Odeh was killed in the attack.
Rescue teams rushed to the scene but struggled to reach the upper floors because of the scale of the damage and congestion in the area.
Witnesses said at least five missiles struck the building almost simultaneously from different directions.
One resident said he heard the sound of helicopter hovering overhead before the attack.
Footage from the scene showed ambulances and civil defence crews searching through the damaged building as crowds gathered nearby.
Reuters
Netanyahu's office said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had targeted Mohammed Odeh, describing him as "one of the architects" of Hamas's 7 October 2023 attacks.
"Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction, and wounding of many Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers," the statement continued.
That attack also targeted a residential building and killed at least three people, according to eyewitnesses and a local source.
Israel has conducted regular strikes across Gaza since a ceasefire began on 10 October.
Hamas has repeatedly accused Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire and attacking civilians. The Palestinian territory's health ministry reports more than 800 deaths from Israeli strikes during the ceasefire.
The Israeli government maintains it has license to target Hamas members and has in turn accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire agreement by failing to disarm.
The latter phases of a US-led peace plan for Gaza have yet to come into force, with progress stalling since the US and Israel started a war with Iran in February.
The US announced the start of the second phase of the plan in January, with governance of Gaza assumed by a transitional, technocratic administration alongside the demilitarisation and reconstruction of the territory.
In its statement on Tuesday, Israel said it would "continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre".
About 1,200 people were killed in that Hamas-led attack and 251 others were taken hostage.
Israel responded by launching a massive military campaign in Gaza, which reduced much of the Palestinian territory to ruins and left many of its 2.1 million residents displaced.
Israeli forces have killed more than 72,744 people in Gaza, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.
The latest Israeli attack on Gaza comes after 11 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon.