Three reportedly killed in IDF strike targeting Hamas terrorist at Gaza university
Three Palestinians were reportedly killed in an Israeli strike that the military said targeted a Hamas military wing operative at the Islamic University in Gaza City on Sunday. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said it received three bodies and treated eight people who were wounded in the strike, and two sources at the Islamic University said those killed were administrative staff and the injured were students. Palestinian media identified the dead as Ashraf Dahlan, Shadi Abu Ataya, and Sami Baroud. In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the IDF said it launched the strike on a Hamas military wing operative. “Following the identification of uninvolved individuals in the area, the munition was diverted to minimize harm to them,” the IDF said. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms It was unclear if the target of the strike was among the dead. Displaced Palestinians are seen near their tents at a displacement camp in the central Gaza Strip, October 24, 2026. (Ali Hassan/Flash90) Gaza’s Hamas-run Education Ministry condemned the strike and said that “the global silence regarding attacks on students and universities serves as encouragement for the continuation of these crimes.” “This strike occurs at a time when the higher education sector is facing total annihilation, with 95 percent of the buildings belonging to academic institutions having been damaged as a result of the war,” it continued. Advertisement “This heinous assault is part of a continuous series of attacks on education; over the past six days, 10 students and educators have been killed by the occupation’s fire.” The strike came as Israel in recent months has increasingly targeted terror operatives in Gaza, including numerous terrorists who took part in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces. A military station is seen at Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel on October 22, 2026. (Ilia YEFIMOVICH/AFP) According to the military, many of the recent strikes focused on Hamas operatives involved in building up the terror group’s force, as well as secret headquarters and Hamas’s civil control mechanisms in the Strip. Hamas reportedly told a UN official earlier this month that it was prepared to carry out an October 7-style attack in Israel, the West Bank or abroad, following the IDF’s expansion past the Gaza ceasefire line and the Palestinian Authority’s cancellation of legislative elections in November. Meanwhile, implementation of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza has stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel refusing to withdraw from any part of Gaza until that condition is met. AFP contributed to this report. Is our live election coverage important to you? 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