The Hamas senior leader was killed in a stabbing strike in southern Gaza as Israel has stepped up attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 634 Palestinians since violating the ceasefire contract on Tuesday.
Sarah al-Baldawir, a senior member of Hamas’ Politics Bureau, was killed on Sunday along with his wife while praying at Khan Eunice’s tent shelter, according to a Palestinian group that accused Israel of assassinating him.
“The blood of his wife and martyr will continue to fuel the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our resolve and will,” the group said in a statement.
Israeli officials had no immediate comments to present. A senior Hamas leader has been killed since Israel resumed its attacks last week.
Israeli forces issued an evacuation order for Rafa’s Tar Az Sultan, killing at least 23 people in the attack on Pondon on Sunday.
Report from Deia El Bala in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said Israel has launched a “severe, massive air attack” in Gaza over the past few hours.
“The situation here remains important,” Abu Azoum said.
“There has been a clear escalation in Gaza since Israel unilaterally violated the ceasefire and launched attacks on populated neighborhoods, hospitals, schools and mosques,” he explained, adding that there has been no conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters up until now.
Updated Attacks
Israel resumed bombing Gaza last week, which suffered from aid lockdown. On Wednesday, they resumed attacks on the ground, sending troops to areas that retreated during a ceasefire for nearly two months. Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire multiple times since it came into effect on January 19th.
Israeli forces have killed nearly 50,000 people since the start of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, following a fatal attack on Israel led by Hamas. At least 1,139 people have been killed in the attacks in southern Israel, with about 250 being taken prisoner, most of whom were released through negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new military attack was intended to force Hamas to abandon the remaining prisoners of war.
However, Hamas accused Israel of sacrificing prisoners of war in the attack, and accused Netanyahu of breaking the ceasefire agreement by refusing to end the war and launch negotiations to withdraw troops from Gaza.
On Friday, the group said it was studying US bridging proposals to restore the ceasefire in April after the end of the month of Ramadan and the Passover Jewish celebrations.
Israel launches attack on Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a second wave of strikes in response to Saturday’s cross-border rocket attack, threatening to unravel the November 2023 ceasefire with Hezbollah groups.
Israel said it had targeted what was called the Hezbollah location and attacked the city of Tyre and Tooyne. The military said six rockets, three of which were intercepted, had been fired from Lebanon to northern Israel.
Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack, calling the Israeli accusations “a pretext for a continuing attack on Lebanon.”
The group added that it is standing “with the Lebanese state in dealing with this dangerous Zionist escalation in Lebanon.”
At least seven people have been killed and 40 have been injured since the Israeli strike began on Saturday.
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