Hamas says Israeli hostage killed in N. Gaza amid Israeli attacks

GAZA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on Saturday that an Israeli hostage was killed in a northern Gaza area targeted by Israeli bombardment.

"After weeks of interrupted communication with members tasked with protecting the occupation's prisoners, it was revealed that one of the female captives was killed in an area under attack in northern Gaza, while the life of another female captive who was with her remains in grave danger," said Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Brigades.

Ubaida accused Israel of causing "suffering and death" of the captives, noting that the Israeli government must prepare to deal with the "dilemma" of the captives' bodies going missing amid its attacks.

The Israeli army has not issued any comment on the claim.

Earlier in the day, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters had targeted an Israeli engineering infantry unit of five soldiers with an anti-personnel missile in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Brigades said the Israeli unit was directly hit, and shortly after, a troop carrier was targeted with a "Yassin 105" missile.

In a separate statement, the Brigades said that it launched a rocket attack on a military base in southern Israel.

The Israeli army said in a brief statement that its forces intercepted two rockets fired from the southern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, at least 12 Palestinian medical workers were injured in an Israeli bombing of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, a medical official said.

Hossam Abu Safiya, the hospital's director, told reporters in Gaza that the Israeli army bombed the entrance to the reception and emergency department, the hospital yards, and the electricity generators.

The Israeli army has not commented on the incident.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.