Israel kills Hamas spokesperson Qanoua: reports

Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, Al-Aqsa TV reported on Thursday.

He was targeted in his tent in Jabalia, the Hamas-affiliated media said. The airstrike also wounded several people.

In a separate attack, the Israeli military also killed six people in Gaza City.

Earlier this week, the Netanyahu’s troops killed Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political office, and Salah Al-Bardaweel, another senior leader.

Both were members of the 20-member Hamas decision-making body, the political office, 11 of whom have been killed since the start of the war in late 2023.

It is worth mentioning here that since Israel ended two-month-old ceasefire by resuming bombing and ground operations, at least 830 people – over half of them children and women – have been killed in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaching the truce. It had broadly held since January and offered respite from war for the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble.

Hamas, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages Israel says the group seized in its October 7, 2023 attack, accused Israel of jeopardizing efforts by mediators to negotiate a permanent deal to end the fighting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered strikes because Hamas had rejected proposals to secure a ceasefire extension. He repeated threats on Wednesday to seize territory in Gaza if Hamas failed to release the remaining hostages it still holds.