An official source from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) reported on Tuesday that two members of the political bureau were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip.
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According to the source in statements to Xinhua news agency, Zakaria Abu Muammar and Jawad Abu Shamala were killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis in the south of the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Earlier, an Israeli army spokesman had told reporters that Israeli aircraft had killed Abu Shamala, Hamas' finance minister, on Monday night. The spokesman said Abu Muammar was profiled as head of the internal relations office and senior Hamas decision-maker and coordinator among Gaza's armed groups.
Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, called Tuesday for a general mobilization for next Friday. "This is our day to mobilize, gather and station ourselves at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in solidarity with our brothers in Gaza and the West Bank," reads the statement.
The group calls on Palestinians, especially youth, in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to take to the streets and confront Tel Aviv's occupation troops.
The escalation of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict began last October 7, when the Palestinian resistance launched a military offensive on the irregular Jewish settler settlements on the outskirts of the Strip, taking Israeli security forces by surprise.
This was in response to the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and the escalation of violence by Jews living in the territories.
Tel Aviv then declared a state of war and total siege against the Gaza Strip. According to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll from Israeli attacks has risen to 849, while the number of injured exceeds 4,300. The figures indicate that more than 900 Israelis have been killed and some 2,616 injured.