Tel Aviv: Hamas-affiliated media reported on Thursday morning that Jamila al-Shanti, the first woman elected to the Hamas politburo was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The report came hours after the Israeli Defense Forces announced that it killed Rafat Abu Hilal, the highest commander of Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees. The PRC is a coalition of terror groups opposed to the Palestinian Authority and Fatah's relationship with Israel.

The military said Abu Hilal was killed in Rafah.

Shanti, 68, was the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi. She was elected to its politburo in 2021. The 15-member council is the terror organization's highest decision-making body.

Her husband was killed in an Israeli-targeted assassination in 2004.

The IDF said other strikes targeted anti-tank missile launching posts, terror tunnel shafts, intelligence infrastructure, and additional command centres. Dozens of mortar launchers were also struck, the majority of which were destroyed immediately after launching shells at Israel.

Israel has been striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since an October 7 assault by Hamas on Israeli communities near the Gaza border that caught Israelis off-guard. Fighting raged for days as the IDF initially struggled to clear out the terrorists. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 4,600 more injured. At least 199 hostages were taken to Gaza.