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 after a British national was confirmed injured in the Israeli airstrike on a UN compound in Gaza, the British Foreign Secretary confirmed.
Israel made the chilling warning last week that it would keep pounding Gaza with airstrikes until terror group Hamas agreed to release more hostages “without playing games”.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that a Brit had been injured in the Israeli airstrikes, adding that the recent attacks on Gaza had been an “appalling loss of life”.
He told MPs: “Yesterday morning a UN compound in Gaza was hit, I can confirm to the House that a British national was amongst the wounded.
“Our priority is supporting them and their family at this time.”
Meanwhile, 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.
Israel's new blitz
By Rachael Bunyan and Sayan Bose
ISRAEL has said it will keep pounding Gaza with air strikes until Hamas agrees to release more hostages “without playing games”.
Netanyahu’s defence minister said Israel had resumed fighting in the Strip while vowing to press ahead until all remaining Israeli hostages were released from Hamas‘ grasp.
One Israeli official told CNN that Israel plans to gradually ramp up operations and the renewed offensive in Gaza will only stop if Hamas agrees to release more hostages.
Another official told the Times of Israel that the military now has a concrete plan “to move forward” their military campaign in the strip.
They added: “If at any point the other side decides to go back to genuinely negotiating, and we go back to genuine talks, then we’ll stop [the offensive].
“At the moment, we’re left without any choice. Without small releases of hostage and without games, the goal is to get everyone out.”
Israel’s bombardment – dubbed “Strength and Sword” by the IDF – threatened to wreck the ceasefire in place since January and fully reignite the 17-month-old war.
Defence Minister Israel Katz warned: “If Hamas does not release all the kidnapped, the gates of hell will open in Gaza and Hamas’ murderers and rapists will meet the IDF with forces they have never known before.
“We will not stop fighting until all the kidnapped return home and all the war’s goals are achieved.”
The terrorists still have around 59 of the 251 hostages they first kidnapped with brute force during the horrors of October 7.
Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas targets across Gaza – ending a weeks-long standoff over extending the ceasefire.