Israeli airstrike on Gaza City apartment kills five as Hamas official targeted

Early morning strike on residential building

At dawn on 3 October 2026, an Israeli airstrike struck a multi-story residential apartment building in the western sector of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip. The aerial bombardment scored a direct hit on an apartment within the complex, destroying multiple residential units and triggering fires inside the structure. Palestinian civil defence personnel and emergency teams rushed to the site to extinguish the blaze and search through the collapsed masonry. Medical authorities at Al-Shifa Hospital and local emergency responders confirmed that at least five Palestinians were killed in the blast. At least five other individuals suffered severe injuries, with medical sources reporting that several injured residents required urgent care. Emergency workers continued excavation efforts throughout the morning to locate any additional victims who might remain trapped beneath the rubble.

Casualties and victim identifications

Local medical sources and Palestinian news outlets released the identities of four of the five individuals killed in the western Gaza City strike. The fatalities include 21-year-old Bilal Awda, as well as a mother named Mary Abu Daud and her daughter Misa Abu Daud. Another victim was identified as Yasmeen al-Boubou, who practiced as a medical doctor. A fourth adult woman died in the attack but remained unidentified in initial hospital casualty records, bringing the total number of deceased women to four. Visual material from the scene documented rescue workers pulling the body of a man from the debris while working to extinguish lingering fires. The injured survivors were evacuated to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for emergency medical treatment.

Reported target of the operation

Information concerning the intended target of the dawn strike came from Israeli media reports published later in the morning. Itay Blumental, a military correspondent for the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, reported on social platform X that Israeli armed forces had carried out a targeted strike against a senior member of Hamas. Blumental identified the target of the operation as Ali al-Omari. According to Blumental, al-Omari is a leading candidate in the planned secret internal election to choose a new Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. Neither the Israel Defense Forces nor Hamas published an official statement confirming the status or presence of al-Omari at the scene following the strike.

Escalation across Gaza City neighbourhoods

The strike in western Gaza City occurred alongside broader military activity reported across the municipality. Eyewitnesses and local health authorities speaking to the Kuwait News Agency reported that Israeli air raids intensified across central Gaza City during the morning hours. Concurrently, Israeli forces conducted large-scale demolition operations across the eastern neighbourhoods of the city. Eyewitnesses also reported direct gunfire aimed at displaced civilians who were attempting to flee from the impacted areas. Palestinian civil defence personnel remained active in the western sector to secure the scene, extinguish residual fires, and clear fallen debris from adjoining residential units.