CAIRO, October 20. /TASS/. Jamila al-Shanti, the first female member of the politburo of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas, has been killed as a result of Israeli shelling, Hamas confirmed.

"The women’s branch of the Hamas movement mourns for our Palestinian people <…>, in particular Jamila al-Shanti, a politburo member who was killed in the brutal Zionist bombardment of the Gaza Strip," Hamas said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel.

Her death was earlier reported by the London-based news website Arabi21 that cited sources in Gaza.

According to the latest statistics from the Palestinian Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli bombardments of Gaza has amounted to at least 4,137.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,500 have been wounded.