Now, as the presumed new Hamas commander in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad holds the fate of the hostages and, to a large extent, the entire Strip in his blood-stained hands. “He was always recognised by our people as one of the more capable commanders,” said Maj Gen Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s former national security adviser.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has closed its aid distribution sites for the day, without giving a date on when they would open again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas. Meanwhile, four Israeli soldiers died in what the media reported was a Gaza blast.

The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month.

The Israeli army on Sunday said it recovered the body of Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas commander who was killed in a May 13 airstrike at a Gaza hospital.

The Israeli military recovered the body of de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.

Israel’s government has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip

The attempt to block the flotilla carrying the famed climate activist comes 15 years after a similar aid effort ended in deadly violence.