Israeli forces struck targets across the Gaza Strip on Thursday after detecting a rocket launch from Gaza City that fell short and landed near a hospital inside the enclave. The Hamas-run civil defense agency said the strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians, including five children.
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet issued a joint statement Friday calling the failed rocket “a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” and said they struck the launch site shortly after detecting it.
The military released footage of the operations on X.
בתגובה לשיגור הכושל שבוצע ממרחב העיר עזה לעבר מדינת ישראל: צה”ל ושב”כ חיסלו מחבלים ותקפו תשתיות ברצועת עזה
צה”ל ושב”כ תקפו אתמול וחיסלו מחבלים מארגון הטרור חמאס ומארגוני טרור נוספים בדרום ובצפון רצועת עזה, בתגובה לשיגור הכושל שנורה בשעות הבוקר ממרחב העיר עזה לעבר שטח מדינת… pic.twitter.com/dzpbi2Xoa8
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 9, 2026
A Hamas source told Reuters the group was investigating the rocket launch allegation.
On Friday, the IDF identified several Hamas operatives it said were killed in the strikes.
🎯 STRUCK: Terror targets across Gaza in response to a failed projectile launch from Gaza City.
The IDF & ISA struck and eliminated Hamas terrorists and terrorists from additional terrorist organizations including Kamal Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Awad and Ahmad Thabet. Additionally,… pic.twitter.com/Glc8XmANCm
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 9, 2026
Among them was Kamal Abdul Rahman Muhammad Awad, described as head of Hamas’s anti-tank array who had planned attacks against Israeli forces. Ahmad Thabit, identified as head of a Hamas weapons workshop the IDF called “a significant hub of knowledge for producing weaponry,” was also killed.
The military said it also struck Ahmad Abdul Fattah Said al-Maghdlawi, a Nukhba force member who the IDF said participated in the raid on the Nova music festival during the October 7 massacre. trike results on Maghdlawi remain under review.
Four more operatives reportedly died when the military hit a command and control complex in northern Gaza. The IDF said those killed were planning an imminent attack on Israeli troops and that the site was used to store weapons. The strikes also destroyed eight rocket launch pits, two weapons production sites and three weapons storage facilities.
The Hamas-run civil defense agency offered a starkly different picture of Thursday’s dead.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP a drone strike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in Khan Younis, killing four people including three children. Near Jabalia refugee camp in the north, an 11-year-old girl was killed. Strikes also reportedly killed one person at a school housing displaced families, a man in a tent near Deir al-Balah, and four others in a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.
“The death toll has risen to 13 as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since this morning in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement,” Bassal said.
Ceasefire Deadlocked
The US-brokered ceasefire took effect October 10 but remains stuck in its initial phase. Israel has refused to advance until Hamas returns the remains of the final Israeli hostage still held in Gaza.
President Trump is expected to announce appointments to his Board of Peace next week. Under Trump’s plan, the board would oversee Hamas disarmament, deployment of an international security force and Gaza reconstruction. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that Hamas continues to refuse disarmament and called the situation “extremely severe.”
