Israel checking if attack killed senior Hamas commander

Israel was checking whether it had killed Hamas's deputy military leader in an airstrike in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said, as prospects faded for a ceasefire to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

If his death is confirmed, Marwan Issa will be the highest-ranking official from the Islamist militant movement killed by Israel in five months of war that has pulverised the coastal enclave and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.