GAZA — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Sunday that Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, was killed in Gaza over the weekend, though Hamas has not confirmed his death.

Obeida’s last public statement came Friday, when Israel declared Gaza City a combat zone and began a new military offensive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said Israel had struck Obeida but was unsure of the outcome.

“I do notice there is no one addressing this question on the Hamas side,” Netanyahu told ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting.

Obeida is the latest senior Hamas figure targeted by Israel as part of its campaign to dismantle the group’s military leadership following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, when militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.

Escalating toll in Gaza City

At least 43 Palestinians were killed since Saturday, most in Gaza City, according to local hospitals.

Shifa Hospital reported receiving 29 bodies, including 10 people killed while seeking aid. Al-Awda Hospital reported seven civilians killed while attempting to reach food distribution sites.

Witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire on aid seekers in the Netzarim Corridor, a military zone that bisects Gaza.

“We were trying to get food, but we were met with the occupation’s bullets,” said Ragheb Abu Lebda, a displaced resident from Nuseirat. “It’s a death trap.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 63,371 Palestinians have died during the war, roughly half of them women and children.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.

The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties, though Israel disputes its figures and has not provided its own.

Malnutrition crisis deepens

Seven Palestinians died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said Sunday, bringing the total to 215 adults and 124 children since October 2023.

Aid groups warn famine declared in Gaza City could spread south unless access improves.

The U.N. says more than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million people have been displaced at least once, with tens of thousands still sheltering in Gaza City despite repeated evacuation calls.

Many say they are too exhausted after multiple displacements or see no safer alternatives.

Israel has signaled it could cut aid to Gaza City while pursuing infrastructure projects in the south, a move Palestinians view as forced displacement. — Agencies