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

The closure of Poipet border crossing, the largest land border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, has left large numbers of people stranded on both sides of the border and unable to return home amid continuing clashes.

At the Thai side of the border on Saturday, security personnel carried out strict checks on all vehicles and people at a distance of about 500 meters from the Poipet crossing, and only those holding Cambodian documents and relevant personnel were allowed access to the area.

"I have been in Thailand for about three to four years, working in a factory. Now the situation at the border is not good, so I want to go back to my hometown," said one of the stranded Cambodian nationals.

Another more than 20 Cambodian nationals failed to go home through the Poipet border crossing on Saturday, and were later picked up by a kind-hearted Thai local, who said that many groups of Cambodians had tried to cross the border every day but failed recently.

"They have no place to sleep, and they would be bitten by mosquitoes if sleeping outdoors, so I want to take them to my place. They just can't go through this checkpoint," said the local.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference Saturday that 6,000 to 7,000 Thai nationals were stranded on the Cambodian side of the Poipet border checkpoint.

Closure of Poipet border crossing leaves many stranded amid clashes