Israeli airstrike kills Jamila al-Shanti, first woman in Hamas political bureau

The Israeli airstrikes killed Jamila al-Shanti, the first woman in Hamas political bureau, said Hamas-affiliated media in Gaza. al-Shanti was the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi and the first woman elected to the terror group’s political bureau in 2021. She was 68.

Israeli media reported the news, quoting a post on X by a Palestinian activist. "The martyrdom of my dear friend, Jamila Al-Shanti, a member of the political bureau of the Hamas movement in Gaza... (To God we belong and to Him we shall return)," the post read. The reports give no details on the location of the strike, saying only that it occurred at dawn. 

Al-Shanti's husband Rantisi was killed in 2004 by an Israeli airstrike during the Second Intifada. During her election in 2021, Al-Shanti was quoted by the Palestinian Al-Aqsa TV channel as saying that the presence of women in the Hamas leadership shall prove to be a valuable contribution to the movement’s future. 

"As a (Palestinian) women’s movement, we haven’t been officially in the Hamas political bureau before, but we have participated in the organization and in decision making during the preceding period," al-Shanti told the media organisation. 

She made her foray into Hamas leadership in 2006 after being elected as a member of the Legislative Council for the "Change and Reform" bloc, affiliated with the Hamas movement.

Rafat Abu Hilal 

The IDF airstrikes on Wednesday night also killed the head of the military wing of Gaza’s Popular Resistance Committees terror group, reported The Times of Israel. The Israeli fighter jets carried out an airstrike on the southern Gaza city of Rafah following information received from the Shin Bet, killing Rafat Abu Hilal. The Popular Resistance Committees is the third largest terror faction in the Strip after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

The IDF also claimed to have destroyed hundreds of Hamas sites in the last 24 hours, including anti-tank missile launch sites, tunnel shafts, intelligence infrastructure, and various command centers.

Hezbollah targets

Israel has also struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including a military observation post from which a guided anti-tank missile was fired toward the northern town of Rosh Hanikra on Wednesday. The Israel Defense Forces adds that the strikes were carried out in response to shooting incidents at Israel over the past day.