Top Hamas commander killed in Israel air strike just hours before four-day truce & hostage release begins

ISRAELI military have claimed they killed another top Hamas commander just hours before their agreed ceasefire begins.

Footage released by the Israeli Air Force appears to show the moment troops eliminated Oma Abu Jallah, commander of the Hamas naval force in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

A statement from the IAF on X read: "The Air Force, guided by the intelligence of the Navy, AMN and Shin Bet, eliminated Amr Abu Jallah, the commander of the Hamas naval force in Khan Yunis, and another terrorist from the organisation's naval force.

"Omar Abu Jallah was a senior in the naval force, and was involved from the beginning of the fighting in sending a number of naval attacks that were foiled by our forces."

A truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is set to start tomorrow with 13 women and children to be released in the afternoon, it has been announced.

Israel confirmed today they have the names of the trapped civilians set to be freed on Friday.

The agreement to release 50 Israeli hostages trapped in Gaza had previously been delayed over "last minute" details between Israel and Hamas.

But it is now set to begin on Friday at 7am with the first group of 13 hostages released at 4pm, Qatar's foreign ministry announced today.

A spokesperson said lists of civilians due to be released had been exchanged, including names of the women and children being let go tomorrow.

In exchange for hostages, around 150 Palestinian women and children will be freed from Israeli prisons at a ratio of 3:1, Sky News reports.

Israel has released a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners who could be released as part of the deal.

The majority are teenagers arrested over the past year for a string of minor offences.

Palestinian civilians have been left fleeing for their lives as Israel attempts to destroy Hamas after the terror group massacred 1,200 civilians on October 7.

Families living in Gaza have been caught in the brutal crossfire, with regular accusations that the terrorists are attempting to use them as “human shields”.

Much of the northern part of the strip has been turned into a devastated warzone - with ruined buildings, dwindling supplies and horrific suffering for Gaza’s people.

The Red Cross estimates that some 1.5million civilians have been forced to flee south amid the Israeli onslaught from land, air and sea.

Figures for the death toll remain unverified - but Hamas’ health officials claim more than 11,000 civilians, including more than 4,500 children have been killed.

Israel disputes these figures - and US President Joe Biden said he had “no confidence” in them.

But Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel has "not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties.

But he said the deaths must be blamed on Hamas - not Israel.

And as the horror continues there have been growing calls for a humanitarian ceasefire to stop the bloodshed.