Top Hamas political figure Salah al-Bardaweel was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, a Hamas spokesman told. According to locals, the air hit killed Bardaweel, Hamas' highest-ranking political official, as well as his wife. Israeli officials made no quick comment. On Sunday, health officials in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian region reported that at least 18 people had been murdered in Khan Yunis and Rafah, farther south. Israel began significant bombings on Gaza earlier this week, thus ending the first phase of a nearly two-month ceasefire. It accused Hamas of rejecting a new US request to extend the truce. The original agreement, which was negotiated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, was allegedly abandoned by Israel, according to Hamas. It envisaged the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the following release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, as well as negotiations to end the war and rebuild Gaza. In a statement released on Sunday, Hamas stated Bardaweel, 66, was praying with his wife when an Israeli missile struck their tent. Bardaweel, a father of eight, was one of Hamas' most prominent political figures. Born in the Khan Younis refugee camp, he was believed to be close to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. He is regarded as a member of the movement's second generation of leadership, following the founders.
Following the assassination of Sinwar and Rawhi Mushtaha during the ongoing conflict, Bardaweel was regarded as Hamas' most senior political figure. The air attack that killed Bardaweel was part of one of the most violent rounds of aircraft bombardment in southern Gaza since the truce deal collapsed last Tuesday. According to a representative for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Israeli soldiers were surrounding five ambulances as they sought to approach a location struck by an Israeli attack in Rafah.
He also stated that several paramedics were injured, and communication had been lost with one of the stranded teams, which had been besieged for hours. Tank fire from Israeli soldiers stationed along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egyptian border was part of the operation, and helicopters also participated.
Alaa al-Din Sabah, a neighborhood resident, told the BBC in a voice message: "Bullets are raining down on us like it's pouring." A woman got shot, and she was bleeding. Ambulances could not reach her." "I can see one of the paramedics lying on the ground, screaming." The Israeli military initiated a campaign to eradicate Hamas in reaction to an extraordinary cross-border raid on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 more.
Alaa al-Din Sabah, a neighborhood resident, told the BBC in a voice message: "Bullets are raining down on us like it's pouring." A woman got shot, and she was bleeding. Ambulances could not reach her." "I can see one of the paramedics lying on the ground, screaming." The Israeli military initiated a campaign to eradicate Hamas in reaction to an extraordinary cross-border raid on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 more.
