Israel kills Hamas ‘new Prime Minister’ Ismail Barhoum in precision strike on hospital just days after he took office
ISRAEL has wiped out Hamas’ so-called new Prime Minister in a precise strike on a Gaza hospital.
Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political office, had just taken office days ago before dying on the surgery department of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV also said Barhoum was receiving treatment for injuries sustained in an earlier attack when the missile hit.
The Israeli military said it carried out the precision strike based on “extensive intelligence” and claimed it used “precise munitions to minimise harm at the site.”
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, confirmed Barhoum was the target, with Hamas later acknowledging his death.
Footage shared on social media showed flames and smoke engulfing the third floor of the hospital.
Barhoum is the latest Hamas official to be killed since Israel resumed its ground offensive after abandoning a ceasefire deal, The Telegraph reports.
Earlier, Hamas said another senior figure, Salah Al-Bardawil, was killed in a separate Israeli strike in Khan Younis on Saturday – a claim the Israeli military confirmed.
Both men were members of Hamas’ 19-member political bureau elected in 2021.
According to Hamas sources, 11 of those members have now been wiped out since the war began in October 2023.
Seven are said to be “highly likely” outside the Strip, The Times of Israel reports.
The strikes come amid a major escalation in Gaza, with explosions reported across the north, central, and southern regions early on Sunday.
At least 45 Palestinians were killed in attacks on Rafah and Khan Younis alone, local health authorities said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war’s goal is to “destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity.”
Israel’s renewed air and ground campaign is also aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing remaining hostages.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss Israel’s military operations and efforts to bring hostages home.
It comes as the grandson of an elderly hostage killed in Hamas’ clutches has blasted the cowardly terror group for his murder.
Veteran peace campaigner Oded Lifshitz’s body was barbarically released in a gut-churning ceremony alongside the Bibas family.
Oded, a long-term defender of Palestinian rights, and his wife Yocheved were viciously kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’ warped October 7 massacre.
Yocheved, 85, was released 16 days later – but 83-year-old Oded, who suffered health issues, was cruelly kept in captivity in Gaza.
His devastated grandson Daniel Lifshitz insists not enough was done to release his beloved grandfather as he condemned Hamas’ evil treatment of him.
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