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Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel, wife killed in Israeli airstrike amid renewed Gaza fighting
Along with Bardaweel, who is a member of the group's political office, the airstrike also killed his wife, pro-Hamas media said.
An Israeli airstrike killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, Hamas and Palestinian media reported in the early hours of Sunday.
Israel has renewed its fighting in Gaza since Tuesday, hitting targets across the war-ravaged territory and ending a weeks-long deadlock over extending the ceasefire that paused fighting in January, with Palestinian health ministry officials reporting hundreds of deaths.
Along with Bardaweel, who is a member of the group's political office, the airstrike also killed his wife, a Reuters report quoted pro-Hamas media.
Two hospitals in southern Gaza said they had received 17 bodies from strikes overnight, including several women and children, according to an Associated Press report. The Hamas official and his wife were not included in the tolls reported by the hospitals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity, adding that the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages.
Hamas' de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were among those killed by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, apart from several other officials.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it killed the head of Hamas' military intelligence in southern Gaza.
In a statement, the Israeli military identified the Hamas leader as Osama Tabash, saying that he was also the head of the militant group's surveillance and targeting unit.
Palestinian health officials said at least 400 people, more than half of them women and children, were killed on Tuesday.
Ceasefire disagreements
The increase in violence comes amid ongoing disagreements between Israel and Hamas regarding the continuation of the three-phase ceasefire that started in January.
Arab mediators, supported by the United States, have been unable to resolve the differences between the two sides during the discussions held over the past two weeks. Over a six-week period, Hamas released around three dozen hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first leg of the ceasefire agreement.
However, since the first phase of the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the two sides have been unable to agree on a path forward for a second phase, which was intended to secure the release of nearly 60 remaining hostages and bring the war to an end. Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume military action and, earlier this month, halted all food and aid deliveries into the besieged territory in an attempt to pressure Hamas.
The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's population. The Health Ministry in Gaza does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but reports that more than half of the casualties have been women and children.
