At least four people were killed in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to Palestinian reports, as the Israeli military said it had struck several targets to eliminate threats to its forces. A top Hamas official was also seized, it said.
Three people were killed and around 10 others injured in Gaza City, according to al-Shifa Hospital. The dead were a woman and two children.
A girl was killed in a separate attack east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The Israeli military said its forces had "struck several targets in the Gaza Strip to eliminate threats to security forces." No Israeli soldiers were harmed, it said.
A security source within the Palestinian militant group Hamas said armed men stormed a building in western Gaza City and opened fire, triggering clashes with Hamas members.
The source said the group's security chief was abducted by members of a Palestinian militia allied with Israel and that his wife was killed in the incident.
Hospital officials said two children were also killed, although they apparently did not belong to the security chief's family.
Citing Palestinian sources, Israeli media reported that Israeli special forces or Israeli-allied militias may have been involved in the clashes.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said during a visit to the Israeli border area that a "senior Hamas terrorist" had been captured.
The Israeli military announced late Tuesday that special forces from the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service had stormed a building in the north of the Gaza Strip to extract him from there.
The Israeli army says that the Hamas security chief will now face questioning. He is alleged to have planned attacks on Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip. The aim of the operation was also to weaken Hamas' control in the area.
According to his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the arrest of "one of the highest-ranking Hamas leaders."
The man, whose name was not disclosed, was also said to have been responsible for transporting hostages abducted from Israel during the Hamas terrorist attack almost three years ago.
"My instruction is clear: the State of Israel will continue to pursue all Hamas leaders and everyone who was involved in the massacre of October 7," Netanyahu asserted.
Since the start of the current ceasefire in the Gaza War, the Israeli military has controlled just over half of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas has re-established its control over the remainder of the territory.
A ceasefire has been in place in the Gaza war since October 2025, although deadly attacks have continued.
Israel has recently stepped up its airstrikes again, saying its military is specifically targeting senior Hamas commanders.