Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least five Palestinians, including three children, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to medical officials, as Israel said its forces had carried out operations against threats to Israeli troops.

The latest Reuters update put the toll from an Israeli operation in Gaza City at four Palestinians, including two children and a woman. A separate incident east of Deir al-Balah killed a girl, identified by medics as Israa al-Hissi, bringing the reported total to five.

Witnesses said Israeli warplanes fired at least 12 missiles near the al-Katiba area west of Gaza City, where large numbers of displaced Palestinians were sheltering. Several people were also wounded and two vehicles were reduced to wreckage, according to medics.

The Israeli military said it had struck several targets in Gaza to remove threats to its security forces, but did not provide further details about the specific targets in its statement cited by Reuters.

The strikes followed an operation in Gaza City in which Israel said it captured a senior Hamas figure. Defence Minister Israel Katz said the man had been arrested, while an Israeli security official identified him as the head of Hamas' internal security service. Katz did not name the detainee or give details of the operation.

Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, said an Israeli special force had attempted to carry out an operation in the city but was detected. He said Israeli aircraft then carried out heavy strikes as the force withdrew.

Israeli media reported that the operation may have involved an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia operating from areas under Israeli control inside Gaza. That account has not been independently established.

In the separate incident in central Gaza, medics said Israeli forces operating east of Deir al-Balah opened fire on the area, killing al-Hissi and wounding two other people.

The violence comes despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 and halted the large-scale fighting. Israeli forces have continued carrying out strikes and other operations, saying they are intended to prevent attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and undermining a broader US-backed plan for ending the war. The plan includes further Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas, according to Reuters.

Gaza health officials say more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed in militant attacks during the same period.