An Israeli strike killed a notable Hamas official, according to The Associated Press.
Palestinian parliament and political bureau member Salah Bardawil was among a minimum of 26 killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza stretching from Saturday night into Sunday morning, the AP reported. The strike also killed Bardawil’s wife.
The number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza following the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas is over 50,000 now, Gaza’s Health Ministry said, coming after a ceasefire was ended last week by Israel via a stream of strikes, the AP reported.
According to its military, Israel also recently launched strikes in retaliation against Lebanon during an unstable ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that came together last year.
Earlier this week, Israel also went forward with a stream of deadly strikes aimed at Hamas in Gaza, which stopped a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the attack that killed 400 Palestinians came after “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,”
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” the prime minister’s office also said.
President Trump also backed the earlier attack, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the Israelis consulted with the White House before going forward with the action.
“All those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” Leavitt said, quoting the president’s previous threats towards Hamas.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
