Israeli airstrike kills Hamas spokesman

Palestine: Information reaching Diaspora Digital Media has it that an Israeli airstrike has killed Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua in northern Gaza.

The strike, which occurred early Thursday morning, targeted his tent.

Others were seriously wounded, including children.

This attack marks an escalation following a two-month ceasefire.

The strike, according to security sources, is a ploy by Israel to pressure Hamas into releasing Israeli citizens held as captives in Palestine.

Israeli strikes have targeted and killed several senior Hamas officials in recent times.

An airstrike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed five people, including Ismail Barhoum, a top finance official of the militia group.

Another attack on displaced persons’ tents in Khan Younis killed Hamas leader Salah al-Bardaweel and his wife.

The Israeli military has killed at least 50,183 Palestinians and wounded 113,828 in its ground and air operations on Gaza since the war began in late 2023.

In the past 10 days, around 830 Palestinians have been killed, with women and children making up more than half of the casualties, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The United Nations’ humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that 142,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by Israel’s military operations since March 18, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis caused by ongoing restrictions on aid entering Gaza.

Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain stalled, with mediators—the United States, Qatar, and Egypt—unable to secure an extension to the initial phase of a three-stage agreement.

Hamas has accused Israel of deliberately undermining truce talks aimed at securing a permanent end to hostilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he ordered the renewed offensive in Gaza after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the ceasefire.

He has also reiterated his threat that Israel would seize Gaza if Hamas does not release the remaining captives.

Background of the conflict

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is rooted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which dates back to the early 20th century.

The conflict escalated after Israel’s creation in 1948, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, known as the Nakba or “catastrophe” in Arabic.

Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), emerged in the late 1980s as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamas’s primary goal is to establish an Islamic state in Palestine and to resist Israeli occupation.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, but maintained control over its borders, airspace, and coastline.

In 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza after a conflict with the Palestinian Authority. Israel responded by imposing a blockade on Gaza, restricting the movement of people and goods.

The conflict has escalated over the years, with periods of relative calm punctuated by outbreaks of violence.

In 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a military operation aimed at stopping rocket attacks from Gaza. The operation resulted in significant damage and loss of life.

In recent years, the conflict has continued to simmer, with periodic exchanges of fire and protests along the Gaza-Israel border.

In 2021, a major escalation occurred, resulting in significant damage and loss of life on both sides.

More recently, on October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise invasion of Israel, killing over 1,100 people and taking around 250 hostages.

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