Hamas military leader killed in Israeli air strike

A leading Hamas military commander has been killed in a targeted Israeli air strike.

Ahmed Jabari was head of Hamas’ military wing and the group’s most significant military figure in Gaza. He is the most senior Hamas figure to be killed for four years and was top of Israel's most-wanted list.

Jabari had overseen the imprisonment of former Israeli prisoner-of-war Gilad Shalit. He was seen as a leading strategist and operational expert within Hamas and was credited with masterminding the group's rise to power in Gaza.

The strike on Wednesday afternoon was in response to the dozens of rockets launched into southern Israel by Palestinian terrorist groups in recent days. Further air strikes reportedly took place over Khan Younis and Rafah. Some media reports suggested Israel had also hit Hamas-run police stations in the Gaza Strip.