Israel has launched a series of strikes on areas west of Gaza city in the northern part of the enclave, as Israeli-backed commandos carried out an operation against Hamas.Israeli media reported that commandos had captured Muein Al-Arabid, whom Israel identified as the head of Hamas's internal security apparatus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Shin Bet and Israeli military for what he described as a “daring operation” to arrest Mr Al-Arabid near his home. He said the man was one of Hamas's most senior figures and had been involved in concealing and transporting Israeli hostages, as well as efforts to restore the group's capabilities.Gaza's Interior Ministry later confirmed that Mr Al-Arabid had been taken by Israeli forces, saying he was wounded during the operation, while his wife was killed and several of his children were injured.The ministry said Mr Al-Arabid had been “carrying out his usual duties” in serving the Palestinian people and “maintaining security and civil peace within the Gaza Strip”. Hamas itself did not confirm the abduction.A woman and two children were killed, and eight people were injured in the strikes on Al Katiba area, the director of Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital said. Another child was killed by Israeli gunfire east of Deir Al Balah, the Wafa news agency quoted medical sources as saying.Witnesses told The National on Tuesday at least 15 Israeli strikes hit the Al Katiba area, while drones also dropped explosives.Palestinians bid farewell to victims of an Israeli air strike at Al Shiffa Hospital in Gaza city on Monday. AFPShow caption: Palestinians bid farewell to victims of an Israeli air strik…Two cars were attacked on nearby streets and Palestinian medics have attempted to recover bodies from inside the vehicles. Several families and civilians were trapped in homes and shops as the attacks unfolded.Israel said it hit “several targets” in the enclave to “remove threats to security forces”. Defence Minister Israel Katz said a senior Hamas member was seized in Gaza after a Palestinian militia group backed by Israel carried out a raid with air support, Israeli media reported. Mr Katz was speaking from a community on the border with Gaza.Gaza's government media office said Israeli special forces “attempted to carry out a security operation in Gaza city but were exposed during the mission”. Israeli forces then intervened from the air, “with more than 10 warplanes launching a series of intense and violent strikes on the area”.Several of Israel's special forces' personnel were killed or injured, the media office added. Israel denied there were any casualties among its ranks.Hamas called the operation “a continuation of the brutal war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip, which has not stopped despite the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement”. It added that the “systematic targeting of civilians, its tightening of the blockade and deepening of the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip, confirm the policy of defiance and arrogance pursued by war criminal Netanyahu towards the mediating countries and their role, as well as his disregard for international law and international humanitarian law”.Several of Israel's special forces' personnel were killed or injured, the media office added. Israel denied there were any casualties among its ranks.Palestinian media reported that Israeli commandos attempted to carry out an operation against a Hamas unit before clashes erupted between the two sides. Other media reported that the violence was between Hamas fighters and Israeli-linked local militiamen.