An Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel and his wife on Sunday, according to Hamas officials.
Explosions echoed across the Gaza Strip early Sunday as Israeli planes targeted multiple locations in what witnesses described as an escalation of the ongoing conflict that reignited on Tuesday.
Hamas accused Israel of assassinating Bardaweel while he was praying with his wife in a tent shelter when the missile struck. “His blood, that of his wife and martyrs, will remain fueling the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our determination and will,” the group said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the main objective of the military campaign is to dismantle Hamas as both a governing and militant entity. He emphasized that the renewed offensive aims to pressure the group into releasing the remaining hostages.
On Tuesday, Israeli strikes reportedly killed at least five senior Hamas officials and their families, according to security sources within the Hamas government. The officials included Issam al-Daalis, a member of Hamas’s political bureau and head of the Government Follow-up Committee in Gaza; Ahmed Omar al-Hatta, deputy minister of Hamas’s justice ministry; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, deputy interior minister; Bahjat Hassan Abu Sultan, director-general of internal security; and Abu Obeida al-Jamasi, a political bureau member and head of the emergency committee in Gaza.
Palestinian health officials reported that at least 400 people were killed on Tuesday alone, more than half of whom were women and children.
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the terms of the January ceasefire agreement by refusing to engage in negotiations to end the war and withdraw troops from Gaza. Despite the accusations, Hamas stated it remains open to negotiations and is reviewing mediator Witkoff’s “bridging” proposals.
