Israel claims killing senior Hamas spokesman as famine worsens in Gaza City

Israel says it has killed Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesman for Hamas.

(NBC)- Israel says it has killed Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesman for Hamas, in an airstrike on Gaza City. Obeida was among the most senior Hamas officials still alive, though Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The strike comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses forward with plans for a full ground assault on Gaza City, calling it Hamas’s last stronghold. Israeli media report Netanyahu did not consider a ceasefire proposal said to have been accepted by Hamas, even after a six-hour cabinet meeting. He has called up 60,000 reservists as part of the push.

Humanitarian agencies warn that Gaza City is already experiencing a level 5 famine — the most severe rating — with more than a million people trapped and aid dwindling. Crowds gather daily at food kitchens, where residents say supplies are insufficient. “If they have food, we eat, otherwise we don’t. My youngest son cries all day from hunger,” said Alaa Jawad, a mother sheltering in a tent with her children.

Inside Israel, opposition to Netanyahu and the war appears to be growing. Protests that once drew a few thousand people in Tel Aviv have swelled to several hundred thousand. Some families of victims and hostages have joined the demonstrations, accusing Netanyahu of rejecting deals that might have freed their relatives.

Gil Dickman, whose cousin Karmel was killed by Hamas last year, said the war is harming both Israel and Jews around the world. “Netanyahu and his war right now, they’re ruining the Israeli state and the Israeli idea — the moral of the Jewish nation of the Jewish people all over the world,” he said.