Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Iranian president responds to Israel's retaliation

The Israel Defense Forces said it killed the Hamas commander who "led the massacre" at the bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re'im on Oct. 7, the IDF said in a statement Thursday.

The Hamas commander Mohammad Abu Itiwi was killed in a joint operation with the Israeli Security Agency on Wednesday, the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement.

This Hamas commander also worked for UNRWA, the IDF said. UNRWA is the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza.

In a statement Thursday, the UNRWA confirmed the person killed by the IDF Wednesday was a UNRWA staff member.

This staff member was not one of the initial 12 people that the Israeli Defense Forces claimed had allegedly participated in Oct. 7 back in January, UNRWA said.

This person was included in a separate list of "another 100 UNRWA staff members" who the IDF claimed were part of Palestinian armed groups including Hamas. This second list was sent to UNRWA in July 2024 by the Government of Israel.

"The UNRWA Commissioner General responded to that letter immediately stating that any allegation is taken seriously. He urged GOI to cooperate with the Agency by providing more information so he could take action. To date, UNRWA has not received any response to that letter," UNRWA said in the statement.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Guy Davies

Initial reports of a large-scale ongoing Israeli military operation in Jabalia, a city in northern Gaza, has left dozens killed and wounded, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense said Thursday.

The operation consisted of explosions blowing up 11 houses in one block in Jabalia, the Gaza Civil Defense said.

Additionally, Israeli operations are ongoing in Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza Thursday evening, the Gaza Civil Defense said.

The Israel Defense Forces has issued another evacuation order for the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday evening.

At least 24 people were injured after an Israeli airstrike on Nahle Road, Baalbek, and 16 people were injured after an Israeli strike on Tyre and surrounding areas, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Thursday.

Overall, 2,574 people have been killed and 12,001 injured since the start of Israel's increased attacks on Lebanon in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Josiane Hajj Moussa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the head of Israel’s intelligence agency will travel to Doha, Qatar, on Sunday for a meeting with the CIA director and the Qatari prime minister as part of efforts to resume talks for a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal.

This comes after a high-level Egyptian security delegation met with a delegation of Hamas leaders in Cairo on Thursday as part of efforts to restart negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News reported.

-ABC News' Jordanna Miller and Ayat Al-Tawy