A senior female member of Hamas was killed on Thursday by an Israeli airstrike targeting her house in Gaza, Palestinian security sources said.

Hamas said in a press statement that Jameela Shanti, the only female member of the movement’s political bureau, the highest-ranking body of the group, was killed during the intense Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources said 41 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Khan Younis, and the central area of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

According to the latest toll released by the health ministry in Gaza, the number of Palestinian casualties has reached 3,478 as Israel continues its attacks.

The latest round of conflict erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip, prompting extensive Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza.

Some 1,300 people in Israel were killed in the attacks launched by Hamas. (Xinhua/NAN)