Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’s new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had struck Mohammad Awda, who Mr Netanyahu described as Hamas's new armed wing chief in Gaza, replacing Izz Al Haddad.
Israel recently stepped up military pressure in Gaza and expanded ground operations in Lebanon.
Sources told The National that Mr Awda had replaced him as leader of the Al Qassam Brigades. There has been no official announcement by Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu did not say whether Israel believed he was killed.
Gaza health officials said three people, including a woman, were killed and more than 20 others wounded in the Israeli strike that destroyed the upper floor of an apartment building in Gaza city's Rimal neighbourhood.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Mr Al Haddad's assassination was the latest in a series that has cut down Hamas's military and political leadership since October 7, 2023, when the group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
More than 72,000 Gazans have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war started in October 2023.
A ceasefire agreed in October left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza, with Hamas controlling the rest of the territory. At least 900 Palestinians have been killed in strikes on Gaza since the truce.
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants during the same period, the country's military said.
Israeli strikes killed at least seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, including five in a refugee camp and two in a car, health officials said.
Medics and residents said an Israeli drone fired a missile at people who came out of their homes when an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia tried to storm an area east of Maghazi camp.
Israel also intensified strikes on Lebanon overnight and advanced its ground invasion beyond the so-called "yellow line".
