India, March 23 -- An Israeli airstrike killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, Hamas and Palestinian media reported in the early hours of Sunday.

Israel has renewed its fighting in Gaza since Tuesday, hitting targets across the war-ravaged territory and ending a weeks-long deadlock over extending the ceasefire that paused fighting in January, with Palestinian health ministry officials reporting hundreds of deaths.

Along with Bardaweel, who is a member of the group's political office, the airstrike also killed his wife, a Reuters report quoted pro-Hamas media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing ent...