Hamas announced Thursday that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one of its official spokesmen, marking the latest high-ranking member targeted since Israel resumed its bombing campaign.
The Palestinian resistance group said in a statement it mourned the loss of Abdul Latif al-Qanou who was killed in what it called a "direct" strike on a tent he was in, in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.
A fragile cease-fire that brought weeks of relative calm to Gaza ended on March 18 with Israel resuming its bombing campaign across the territory.
According to the local Health Ministry, at least 855 people have been killed since.
The ministry said that the figure included 25 people killed in the past 24 hours. It also reported that the overall death toll had reached 50,208 since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.
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 airstrike.
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.
Earlier Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, while the group warned they would return "in coffins" if Israel did not stop bombing the Palestinian territory.
Israel claimed two projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip, with one intercepted and the other landing near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The rocket fire came as rare protests against Hamas by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were held for a second consecutive day, with demonstrators chanting slogans against the Islamist movement and calling for an end to the war.
Meanwhile, the U.N. said Wednesday that the renewed Israeli operations had displaced 142,000 people in just seven days, and warned of dwindling supplies amid Israel's blocking of aid.
On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would "soon operate with full force in additional areas of Gaza" and send out more evacuation orders.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee later issued evacuation warnings for residents in several areas in and around Gaza City.
Israeli officials say the new operations are meant to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages following a stalemate in talks with mediators on extending the truce – in which 33 Israeli captives were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel wanted an extension of the truce's initial phase, while Hamas demanded talks on a second stage that was meant to lead to a permanent cease-fire.
Netanyahu told parliament that "the more Hamas persists in its refusal to release our hostages, the stronger the pressure we will exert."
"This includes the seizure of territories, along with other measures I will not elaborate here," he added.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, incursion of Israel, which triggered the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
"Every time the (Israeli) occupation attempts to retrieve its captives by force, it ends up bringing them back in coffins," Hamas said in a statement.
The group said it was "doing everything possible to keep the occupation's captives alive," but that "the random Zionist bombardment is endangering their lives."
In northern Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinians gathered for a second day of anti-Hamas protests, chanting "Out, out, Hamas out!"
"We do not want Hamas! We are tired," said protester Muayed Zahir, who took part in a rally in Gaza City. Another protest took place in nearby Beit Lahia.
Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 after winning a Palestinian election the year before. No vote has been held since.
Levels of discontent towards Hamas in Gaza are difficult to gauge, in part because of its intolerance for public expressions of dissent.
Fatah, the movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, has called on Hamas to "step aside from governing" Gaza to safeguard the "existence" of Palestinians in the war-battered territory.
