Israeli attacks and ceasefire violations across the Gaza Strip on Saturday left at least seven Palestinians killed and more than 40 injured, while the Israeli army announced the assassination of Raed Saad, deputy commander of Hamas’s military wing, in Gaza City.
Medical sources confirmed the death of Mohammad Abu Hussein, who succumbed to wounds sustained weeks earlier when his tent was struck in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
In Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza, 19-year-old Mohammad Sabri al-Adham was shot dead in the morning.
Later, Israeli drones targeted a vehicle at the Nabulsi intersection west of Gaza City, killing five people and injuring 25.
In the Gaza city’s Zeitoun neighborhood, Israeli soldiers abducted and shot an elderly Palestinian man and left him bleeding in the eastern area of the neighborhood, before Palestinian medics found him and took him to a hospital.
Hospitals also reported 16 additional injuries and the recovery of one body from collapsed structures, bringing Saturday’s toll to seven killed and 41 injured.
Civil defense teams also reported that harsh winter conditions have caused building collapses, leading to ten additional deaths in recent days.
Israeli strikes and demolitions persisted in al-Tuffah east of Gaza City, northern Rafah in Gaza’s southernmost part, and eastern Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
Families displaced to Mawasi Khan Younis and coastal camps described worsening conditions in rain-soaked tents and unsafe shelters.
Aid agencies warned of rising risks of hypothermia, respiratory illness, and waterborne disease as winter storms flood camps and overwhelm sanitation systems.
In a major development, the Israeli army announced in cooperation with the Shin Bet the assassination of Raed Saad, deputy commander of the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades.
Military radio said the assassination was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without prior consultation with Washington.
Saad, described as a “shadow man” within Hamas, was one of the founding figures of the Qassam Brigades and a longtime member of its general staff.
He previously commanded the Gaza Brigade, the largest formation within Qassam, after Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Strip, and later “oversaw the group’s weapons manufacturing program under siege conditions.”
He was reported killed in 2024 during a strike on the Shati refugee camp, but Hamas denied the claim at the time. Following the assassination of Mohammed Deif last year, Saad became deputy commander under current leader Ezzeddin al-Haddad.
Saturday’s bombings, deaths and injuries underscored the fragility of the ceasefire and the persistence of Israeli operations.
Video shows children in Gaza desperately trying to sweep floodwater away from their makeshift tents. Storm Byron has flooded camps where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians live.
Israel continues to ban the entry of temporary homes and shelter materials into Gaza. pic.twitter.com/DqUevGXng3
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 13, 2025
For Gaza’s civilians, the day’s toll reinforced a grim reality: the enclave remains under siege, with its population exposed to ongoing violations, displacement, and humanitarian collapse despite the nominal truce.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that as of Saturday, the cumulative toll since October 7, 2023, has reached 70,654 killed and 171,095 injured, with many victims still trapped beneath rubble.
Since the October 11, 2025 “ceasefire,” 386 people have been killed, 1,018 injured, and 628 bodies recovered.
The ministry added that 277 names were recently added to the cumulative death toll after verification by the “Committee for Certifying Martyrs,” covering the period December 5–12.
