Israel says killed Turkish NGO director in Gaza strike
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it killed the director of a Turkish NGO in a strike, accusing him of being a member of Hamas's armed wing.
Israel says killed Turkish NGO director in Gaza strikeThe military said he maintained contact with Turkish officials and Hamas leaders.
"Earlier on Sunday, the IDF conducted a strike in the Khan Yunis area of the Gaza Strip and eliminated the terrorist Saqr Nabil Musa Qaisi, a member of the Nukhba elite force of the Hamas terrorist organisation," the statement said.
"The terrorist headed the Turkish organisation Deniz Feneri, presented as a humanitarian aid association but which, in reality, maintains ties with senior leaders of the Hamas terrorist organisation as well as with officials within the Turkish leadership."
Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah had earlier announced the death of Qaisi, who led the Turkish humanitarian organisation Deniz Feneri, in a strike on a vehicle in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army alleged that "in the course of his duties with the association, the terrorist worked to regularly employ numerous terrorists", without providing evidence, calling it a "cynical exploitation of the humanitarian sector".
In a separate statement, the army said it had killed a commander of Hamas's armed wing in another strike in the Khan Yunis area.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented 2023 attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people since a ceasefire was announced last October, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The Israeli military has identified five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
