The Israeli Defense Force said Tuesday strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed four senior Hamas officials.
Hamas has claimed six of its officials are dead, but that has not been confirmed independently by the IDF, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The four killed were Issam al-Da'alis, Hamas's political Gazan prime minister; Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the director-general of Hamas's Interior Ministry; Bahjat Abu Sultan, operational chief of Hamas's internal security apparatus; and Hamas justice minister Ahmed Omar al-Hatta, The Jerusalem Post said. Al-Da'alis was the most senior of the Hamas officials, according to the Post.
The airstrikes killed more than 400, local health officials said, shattering a ceasefire in place since January with its deadliest bombardment in a 17-month war with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.
A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu's decision to return to war amounts to a "death sentence" for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to save his far-right governing coalition and called on mediators to "reveal facts" on who broke the truce.
Aid groups have warned supplies are running out, two weeks after Israel cut off all food, medicine, fuel and other goods to Gaza's 2 million Palestinians.
"Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength," Netanyahu's office said.
The White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war."
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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