Salah al-Bardaweel, a leading Hamas political figure, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, a Hamas spokesman informed the BBC.

Bardaweel, considered the top political figure in Hamas, and his wife were murdered in the airstrike, according to locals. There was no immediate response from Israeli officials, according to BBC.

The statements of health officials in the Palestinian region controlled by Hamas, at least 18 people have been murdered so far on Sunday in Rafah and Khan Yunis, farther south.

Israel began significant bombings on Gaza earlier this week, thus ending the first phase of a nearly two-month ceasefire. It accused Hamas of rejecting a new US request to extend the truce, BBC reported.

Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of abandoning the initial arrangement, which had been negotiated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. It envisaged the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the following release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, as well as negotiations to end the war and rebuild Gaza.