Hamas spokesman killed in Israeli airstrike amid renewed bombardment

Hamas has confirmed that an Israeli airstrike killed one of its official spokesmen, Abdul Latif al-Qanou, in Gaza on Thursday.

This marks the latest high-ranking operative targeted since Israel resumed its military operations in the region.

In a statement, Hamas said al-Qanou was killed in a “direct” strike on a tent he was in, located in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza. The renewed strikes follow the breakdown of a fragile ceasefire, which ended on March 18, leading to intensified Israeli bombardments across the territory.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 855 people have been killed since.

Qanou is the latest Hamas official to be killed in recent Israeli strikes.

Israel’s military said last week it had killed the head of Hamas’s internal security agency, Rashid Jahjouh, in an air strike.

Days earlier, Hamas had named the head of its government in the Gaza Strip, Essam al-Dalis, and interior ministry head Mahmud Abu Watfa, among a list of officials it said were killed in strikes.

The Israeli military confirmed it had killed Dalis, a member of Hamas’s political bureau who became the head of its administration in Gaza in June 2021.

Hamas has also confirmed the deaths of Salah al-Bardawil and Yasser Harb, both members of its political bureau.

“The occupation’s targeting of the movement’s leaders and spokespersons will not break our will,” Hamas said Thursday.