Hamas announced that its prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Issam al-Da'alis, and other leaders were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes early Tuesday morning. The strikes were part of an Israeli escalation and the Netanyahu government's failure to implement a ceasefire agreement.

In a statement, the movement mourned the death of the head of government follow-up, Al-Dalis, along with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the Director-General of the Internal Security Service, Bahjat Abu Sultan, and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, Ahmed Al-Hatta.

The movement also mourned the deaths of its political bureau members, Yasser Harb and Mohammed al-Jamasi, stressing that these martyrs worked "to serve their people, strengthen their security, social cohesion, and steadfastness on their land, and to achieve their aspirations to halt and end the Zionist aggression."

She explained that they were martyred "after being directly targeted by Zionist occupation aircraft, along with their families."

She stressed that "the assassination crimes carried out by the Zionist occupation against the movement's leaders, symbols of national action, and our people will not enable it to achieve its goals, nor will they break the will of our people."

Al-Dalis, who was a member of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza, was elected to his government duties in June 2021. In November 2023, Israel announced that it had bombed a Hamas building where al-Dalis and other leaders were present, claiming that they had been killed.

Israel vowed Tuesday to continue fighting in Gaza until the "return of the hostages" held by the movement. This followed airstrikes on the besieged enclave, the most violent since a ceasefire between the two sides took effect, resulting in the deaths of 413 people, most of them children and women.

For his part, Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri stressed that Israel is trying to "impose a surrender agreement" on the movement through the violent attacks it launched on the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds. He accused the United States of being a "partner in the escalation."

Abu Zuhri said, "The occupation's massacres in Gaza aim to undermine the ceasefire agreement and attempt to impose a surrender agreement, writing it in Gaza's blood." He noted that the Israeli attacks have also resulted in hundreds of injuries, including dozens in critical and serious condition.

In a related development, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his "shock" at the renewed genocidal war waged by Israel against the Gaza Strip, calling for respect for the ceasefire, according to a UN spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General is shocked by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and strongly appeals for respect for the ceasefire, the restoration of unhindered humanitarian access, and the unconditional release of the remaining hostages," spokesman Rolando Gomez said at a press conference in Geneva.

For his part, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, considered that the resumption of the war would fuel "hell on earth." He explained that "fueling hell on earth by resuming the war will only exacerbate despair and suffering."

In a post on the X platform, he stressed that "the ceasefire must be restored."

Earlier on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed his shock at the Israeli strikes, calling for "an immediate end to this nightmare." He said, "The only way forward is to reach a political settlement in accordance with international law."

He added, "Israel's use of further military force will only exacerbate the tragedy of the Palestinian people, who are already suffering from catastrophic conditions." He continued, "This nightmare must end immediately. The hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally."

He stressed the need to "release all arbitrarily detained persons immediately and unconditionally," and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that "the war must end. We urge all influential parties to do everything in their power to achieve peace and prevent further civilian suffering."