The Israeli Defense Forces are still pushing into Gaza, and on Sunday we learned that Israeli strikes in southern Gaza took out senior Hamas leader Salah Bardawil, who was part of Hamas's political bureau.

Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight into Sunday, including a senior Hamas political leader as well as several women and children.

This, as the Israeli military instructed people to evacuate from part of the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.

The military said it would soon operate in the Tel Sultan area of Rafah. Israel launched a major offensive on the city in May.

People were ordered to evacuate on foot along a single route to the Mawasi area. It was not immediately known if the evacuation order meant Israeli forces would renew ground operations.

Hamas themselves admitted that Saleh Bardawil had his birth certificate revoked.

Hamas said that Salah Bardawil, a member of its political bureau, was killed in a strike in Mawasi along with his wife. Bardawil, who was also a member of the Palestinian parliament, was a well-known member of the Hamas' political wing who spoke to the media over the years.

As a member of Hamas' political wing, Bardawil was doubtless aware of the planning for the October 7th attack; it stands to reason that Hamas's politburo would have been aware of these plans, making them, effectively, accomplices. 

Plans are underway to move Gazan civilians out of the combat zone, but that task presents major problems in and of itself.

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Hamas's Gaza Health Ministry claims that 50,000 Gazans have been killed since the Israel Defense Forces responded to the October 7th attacks by moving into Gaza. That's as may be; the Gaza Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians, inasmuch as that distinction is made in Gaza, and Hamas fighters. Were it not for the October 7th attacks, we might note, that number would be zero. Furthermore, Hamas has a history of setting up headquarters and other military operations in schools, hospitals, and other civilian institutions, using those locations as shields, and as propaganda topics when they are inevitably destroyed.

On Friday, I wrote:

This is, sadly, a part of the world where there are frequently just not many good answers. The people of Gaza have been living under Hamas for almost two decades. A couple of generations of Gazan children have attended schools set up by Hamas, where they were inculcated in hate and antisemitism. Hamas members blend in with the population of Gaza, like piranhas in a school of bait fish, and any "refugees" taken in by Egypt or anyone else are liable to have Hamas fighters or, at least, Hamas sympathizers in their midst.

That's the problem Israel faces. And it's not just Hamas that is the source of the problem. In a display of futility, the Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile at Israel, which was intercepted.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are allies of Hamas, launched another missile at Israel, but the Israeli military said the projectile was intercepted. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Hamas can, of course, end this whenever they wish. They must simply surrender, hand over all of their weapons, return every single hostage, and disband. This, though seems unlikely, and as before, there will be no peace in Gaza until Hamas is no longer a factor.

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