Israel's military has said it has been trying to confirm whether Hamas's deputy military leader had been killed in an airstrike on an underground compound in central Gaza.
If his death is confirmed, Marwan Issa will be the highest-ranking official from the militant movement killed by Israel in five months of war that have pulverised the coastal enclave and killed thousands of Palestinians.
Issa, known as the 'Shadow Man' for his ability to stay out of sight, was one of three top Hamas leaders who planned the 7 October attack on Israel that triggered the war and are believed to have been directing Hamas's military operations since then.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the targeted compound was used by Issa, among others, but it was still not clear whether Issa had been killed.
"We are still examining the results of the attack, and we have yet to get final confirmation," Mr Hagari said, adding that it was more complicated to confirm because the target was underground.
Israeli Army Radio said the Al-Nusseirat camp in central Gaza had been bombed on Saturday night following intelligence about the location of Issa, second-in-command of Hamas's military wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.
The attack killed five people, the report said.
A Palestinian source said the Israelis had hit a place where they thought Issa was hiding, but could give no details of his fate.
Hamas officials did not immediately comment on the media reports.
Yesterday, in a statement rounding up operations from the previous 24 hours, Israel said its forces had killed militants in central Gaza but did not mention the camp.
"There still aren't indications with certainty," Hili Tropper, an Israeli cabinet minister, said in an interview with Israel's Channel 13 television today.
"If indeed Marwan Issa was eliminated, who in many ways is Hamas' military chief of staff, it's a great achievement by the IDF and Shin Bet [Israeli security agency]," he said.
"I still don't know if he was eliminated. I'm waiting patiently to receive the indications, Mr Tropper added.
Issa on Israel's 'most wanted’ list
Issa is on Israel's "most wanted" list, together with Mohammed Deif, commander of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas's Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
Fighters from Hamas, which administers Gaza, killed 1,200 people in the 7 October attack and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to Gaza authorities, while infrastructure has been obliterated and hundreds of thousands are close to famine.
Issa's death, if confirmed, could also complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages, although Israel says talks are continuing through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Hamas blames Israel for refusing to give guarantees to end the war and withdraw troops. Israel wants a temporary truce to allow an exchange of hostages, but has said it will not stop its war until it has defeated Hamas.
Negotiators had wanted a halt in hostilities for Ramadan, which began today, but an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed 16 people and wounded several others, Palestinian health officials said.
Two Palestinians were also killed in an airstrike on a house in Khan Younis as residents were breaking the first day of the Ramadan fast, Gaza health officials said.
The IDF did not immediately comment on those incidents. But it said its forces had killed about 15 militants in close combat and airstrikes in central Gaza and that commandos had targeted sites believed to be used by Hamas militants in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Pro-Palestinian groups elsewhere continued to make their presence felt. Lebanon's Hezbollah said it had launched several drones at an outpost in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Monday, and two other incidents were reported in Red Sea waters where Yemen's Houthis have been attacking ships.
The conflict has displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million people, with many cramped into makeshift tents with little in the way of food or basic medical supplies in the southern city of Rafah.
Guterres appeals for truce, hostage release, aid
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres appealed for a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages and the removal of obstacles to life-saving aid.
He said a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah could put the people of Gaza in "an even deeper circle of hell".
The UN estimates a quarter of the population are at risk of starvation, and is barely scratches the surface of daily needs.
Mr Guterres said he was "appalled" by conflict continuing in Gaza despite the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Speaking after the failure of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire, Antonio Guterres called for "silencing the guns" in the territory and warned that "hunger and malnutrition" are taking hold.
"This is heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable," he told reporters.
"I am appalled and outraged that conflict is continuing in Gaza during this holy month," Mr Guterres said, adding that "all obstacles" to aid delivery should be removed.
Mr Guterres said, "The eyes of history are watching. We cannot look away. We must act to avoid more preventable deaths.
"We have witnessed month after month of civilian killing and destruction at a level that is unprecedented in all my years as secretary-general.
But aid "is coming in trickles - if it comes at all. International humanitarian law lies in tatters."
Aid agencies are now focusing their efforts on delivering aid by sea and through air drops.
Jordanian state media said there had been seven humanitarian air drops today, with Jordan, the US, Egypt, France and Belgium taking part.
Morocco was also scheduled to join the effort, Israeli media reported.
The US military said it had parachuted more than 27,600 meals and 25,900 bottles of water into northern Gaza.
Its vessel, the General Frank S. Besson, was also en route to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza by sea.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim welcomed the aid corridor but urged the US to work to end the war.
