JERUSALEM, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Wednesday it had killed the head of the Operations Department in Hamas' Military Intelligence Headquarters in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's Shin Bet security agency and military said in a joint statement that Iyad Ahmed Abd al-Rahman Shambari was killed in a strike on Tuesday in the north of the enclave.
They described Shambari as a "key figure" in the gathering of intelligence on Israeli troops in Gaza, where they are still deployed in large areas despite a ceasefire. He was "responsible for compiling the operational situational assessment of the entire Gaza Strip ... in order to direct and execute attack plans against troops," according to the statement.
The military said the troops are deployed in the area and will "continue to operate to remove any immediate threat."
Hamas has yet to comment on the Israeli claim.
Israel killed at least five people in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to an update on Wednesday by the Gaza health authorities. Since the ceasefire came into effect in early October, Israeli fire has killed 823 people and injured 2,308 others. ■
