Israeli military says senior Hamas militant killed in Gaza

The Israeli military confirmed that its forces killed a senior Hamas militant in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement that Ra'ad Sa'ad, head of the weapons production headquarters in Hamas' military wing, was killed.

The Israeli military claimed that Sa'ad was "directly responsible for violations of the ceasefire agreement" by Hamas in recent months, accusing him of leading the continued production of weapons during the ceasefire.

Israeli media reported that Sa'ad was described as one of the planners of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and "one of the last remaining senior militants" in Gaza. Israel had tried to kill Sa'ad in the past but failed.

Meanwhile, according to Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), several Palestinians were killed and injured on Saturday after an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle west of Gaza City.

Hamas Saturday issued a statement saying that an Israeli fighter struck a vehicle west of Gaza City, causing the deaths and injuries of several Palestinians. It condemned the Israeli side for "intending to violate the ceasefire agreement through escalating violations."

In the statement, Hamas condemned the Israeli army's attack and accused the Israeli army of continuously imposing a blockade on Gaza, hindering humanitarian rescue efforts. It called on the ceasefire agreement mediators and guarantor states to earnestly fulfill their responsibilities and take urgent action against the "blatant violations" to prevent Israel from continuing to violate the agreement and attempting to undermine the ceasefire mechanism.

Israeli military says senior Hamas militant killed in Gaza

A China Media Group (CMG) reporter helped evacuate Chinese nationals stranded at Dubai International Airport before it was damaged in an ''incident" early on Sunday morning.

The reporter, who went to the airport by car to investigate flight delays, met several stranded Chinese nationals at the airport who had been unable to leave on their scheduled flights as the Middle East conflict forced airlines to stall operations.

The Chinese passengers said after they arrived a little before 19:00, the check-in counter was closed, raising their concern that the airport might be taken over by the military.

"I was thinking of finding some chairs for the kids to sleep on before going back to ask what was going on. At first, the airport staff offered to help, but then some people who looked like soldiers came and told us to leave," said a Chinese passenger.

Footage from the reporter showed that the area outside the airport was almost deserted, with very few vehicles. Public transportation had been suspended early, and only police cars were parked on both sides of the road, with emergency staff signaling all civilian vehicles to leave immediately.

Dubai Airports confirmed that a concourse at Dubai International Airport later sustained minor damage in what it referred to as an “incident”. Emergency response teams were immediately deployed and were managing the situation in coordination with the relevant authorities. Aviation sources told Reuters news agency that one of the terminals had been damaged during an overnight Iranian attack.

The Dubai Media Office said that four staff members sustained injuries and received prompt medical attention.

CMG reporter helps evacuate Chinese nationals from Dubai airport