Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesman for the military wing of "Hamas", was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City, DPA and the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
"The spokesman for the terrorist organization "Hamas" Abu Obeida was killed in Gaza, Katz said, a day after the military said it had carried out a strike on a senior member of the Palestinian militant group.
Although the military said it had taken measures to reduce the risk to civilians, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Civil Defense Agency reported at least seven deaths in an attack on a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, once considered an affluent area.
Shortly before Katz confirmed his death, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abu Obeida's fate was still unclear. He stressed at the start of a cabinet meeting that no one from Hamas had commented on the Israeli claims.
"Hamas" has yet to officially confirm his death after the Israeli army announced the attack yesterday. DPA sources in the organization have described these claims as psychological warfare and called on Palestinians not to spread rumors about Abu Obeida's death.
Abu Obeida is a long-time spokesman for Hamas's military wing, the "Izzedine al-Qassam" Brigades. He is known for appearing in public and in video messages wearing a mask.
Hospital officials reported 11 more deaths in Israeli strikes and shelling. The "Al-Awda" hospital said seven of them were civilians who were trying to get help, the AP notes. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers opened fire on crowds in the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli military zone that divides Gaza in two.
"We were trying to get food, but we were met with the occupiers' bullets", said Ragheb Abu Lebda from Nuseirat, who saw at least three wounded. "It's a death trap".
The corridor has become increasingly dangerous, with civilians dying as they approach UN convoys overrun by looters and desperate crowds, or being shot on their way to facilities run by the Israeli-backed American Humanitarian Foundation for Gaza. Neither the foundation nor the Israeli military responded to questions about today's casualties.
For weeks, Israel has been conducting operations on the outskirts of Gaza City, as well as in the Jabalia refugee camp, to prepare for the initial stages of its offensive, which it announced on Friday. Since then, the Israeli military has stepped up airstrikes on the city's coastal areas, including Rimal.
An Israeli military spokesman has urged the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City to flee south, but only tens of thousands have followed the instructions. Many say they are too exhausted from repeated moves or are not convinced that anywhere else is safer, the AP notes.