Gaza, Oct 20 (IANS): A senior female member of the Hamas militant group was killed by an Israeli airstrike which targeted her house in Gaza, Palestinian security sources said.

In a statement late Thursday, the Hamas said that Jameela Shanti, the only female member of the group's political bureau which is the highest-ranking body, was killed earlier in the day.

According to reports, she was a member of Hamas and was the founder of the group's women's organisation.

The most senior woman among Hamas deputies elected in 2006, she was also the was the widow of the co-founder of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, who was assassinated by Israel in April 2004.

Jameela had worked as a faculty member at the Islamic University in Gaza.

According to sources,41 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Khan Younis, and the central area of the Gaza Strip through the day.

Since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, a total of 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, have been killed in Gaza as of Friday morning, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled enclave said in its latest update.