Israel captures head of Hamas internal security, says PM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces captured the head of Hamas's internal security apparatus in Gaza, without giving his name.

Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency and the military "in a daring operation today arrested the head of Hamas's internal security apparatus near his home in Gaza.

"He is one of the most senior Hamas leaders", Mr Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by his office.

Earlier, Palestinian health officials said that heavy Israeli bombardment killed four people in Gaza city, in what both sides described as an Israeli-backed ground operation to seize a senior Hamas figure.

Eyewitnesses reported around a dozen strikes this morning in western Gaza city, where the territory's civil defence agency said four people were killed: three children and a woman.

Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed the toll given by the civil defence, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas.

AFP footage from western Gaza city showed the bodies of two children wrapped in shrouds being carried through the streets, where the mangled wreckage of a vehicle lay.

"A jeep stopped in the middle of the street and started firing indiscriminately left and right. It carried on firing at us like rain for more than 15 minutes," Wafika al-Helou said, describing a "terrifying and unbearable" scene.

Another eyewitness, Mutaz Abu Asr, spoke of gunfire and drones, describing more than five strikes in less than three minutes.

Speaking on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that "a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested" without naming the person or giving further details.

"We do not wait for threats, but hunt down Hamas terrorists, thwart them and destroy their terror infrastructure," Mr Katz said.

The minister said that due to Israeli strikes since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, nearly 70% of Gaza has been destroyed and is under Israeli military control "with no residents, no tunnels and no houses".

A security source in Gaza told AFP the Israeli mission against a prominent Hamas figure was thwarted and that special forces withdrew "on motorcycles under Israeli cover".

The forces included an Israeli-allied militia inside Gaza, which Hamas has controlled for years, he said.

Mission 'exposed'

Another security source told AFP that while the operation targeting a leadership figure was foiled, a security official who was present at the scene had been abducted.

Ismail al-Thawabta, head of Hamas's media office in Gaza, said on X that an Israeli special forces operation was "exposed during the mission", prompting heavy airstrikes in the area.

The Israeli military said it struck "several targets in the Gaza strip in order to remove threats to the security forces", giving no further information except that there were no injuries among Israeli troops.

Separately, in central Gaza, Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah reported that Israeli fire killed two other people including a girl. The civil defence confirmed the toll.

Despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, violence has not halted in Gaza, with Israel continuing to target Palestinians it says are militants.

Israel PM's wife shares conspiracy theory about opposition figure

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister, has claimed an opposition figure was aware of the plan for Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack before it happened.

Her remarks, which triggered outrage across Israel's opposition, highlight the country's deep political polarisation ahead of close-fought elections to be held on 27 October.

In a television interview broadcast yesterday evening, Sara Netanyahu lashed out at Yair Golan, the former deputy military chief of staff who heads Israel's centre-left Democrats party.

She suggested Mr Golan was "already dressed and ready" at dawn on 7 October 2023, "while others knew nothing, including the prime minister".

Her interview was broadcast on Israel's Channel 14, which is close to the government. The comments triggered swift outrage from the opposition.

Mr Golan's party said it strongly condemned the "vile and deceitful" remarks.

"Spreading conspiracies against Major General Yair Golan, and smearing his heroism on 7 October, is crossing a red line that borders on insanity," it wrote on X.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief who has emerged as the frontrunner to challenge Mr Netanyahu, slammed the "mad conspiracy of betrayal" spread by the prime minister's wife.

In a post on X, he said the comments were "intended only to stoke hatred and perpetuate Netanyahu's rule".

Sara Netanyahu's accusations reflect recurrent conspiracy theories among a part of the Israeli political class.

According to a poll conducted for Channel 13 in August, 40% of Israelis, and 63% of voters for the current right-wing coalition, believe that internal treason led to the 7 October attack - the deadliest day in Israel's history.

Mr Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has billed himself as the guarantor of the country's safety, has deflected blame for the attack, saying that security officials should have woken him from his sleep.