An Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel on Sunday, Hamas officials said, as residents reported an escalation in the Israeli military campaign that began on Tuesday.
Pro-Hamas media said the airstrike killed Bardaweel, who is a member of the group’s political office, as well as his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.
Taher Al-Nono, the media adviser of the Hamas leadership, mourned Bardaweel’s death in a post on his Facebook page.
After two months of relative calm, Gazans were again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching an all-out air and ground campaign on Tuesday against Gaza’s dominant Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
Explosions echoed throughout the north, central and southern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Sunday, as Israeli planes hit several targets in what witnesses said was an escalation of the attack that began on Tuesday.
In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of assassinating Bardaweel, whom it said was praying along with his wife when an Israeli missile struck their tent shelter in Khan Younis.
“His blood, that of his wife and martyrs, will remain fuelling the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our determination and will,” said the group.
Israel has launched new airstrikes on targets in Gaza while its ground forces begin a renewed ground operation. Hamas responded by firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity. He has said the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages.
Hamas’s de facto government head, Essam Addalees, and its internal security chief, Mahmoud Abu Watfa, were among several officials killed by Israeli strikes on Tuesday.
Palestinian health officials said at least 400 people, more than half of them women and children, were killed on Tuesday.
Palestinian medics said an Israeli plane bombed a house in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding several people.
Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January ceasefire agreement by refusing to begin negotiations for a final end to the war and a withdrawal of its troops from Gaza.
But Hamas has said it is still willing to negotiate and was studying “bridging” proposals brought forth by Steve Witkoff, mideast envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump.
The return to the airstrikes and ground operations that have devastated Gaza has drawn calls for a ceasefire from Arab and European countries. Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling on Israel to restore access for humanitarian aid.
Israel has blocked the entry of goods into Gaza. Ophir Falk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, has accused Hamas of taking aid for its own use, a charge Hamas has previously denied.
The war was sparked after a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 others captive, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded with a military campaign in which more than 49,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands more are feared still buried and uncounted under the rubble, and the attacks have devastated much of the coastal enclave, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in tents and makeshift shelters.
