Israel kills 3 sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

2024-04-10 20:27:11, Kosova & Bota CNA

The three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, officials of the group and the Haniyeh family said.

The Israeli military confirmed the attack and said the three boys were operatives of the armed wing of Hamas.

Ismail Haniyeh, who operates in Qatar, has been one of the fiercest representatives of Hamas to face international diplomacy since the start of the war between the Palestinian militants and Israel in Gaza, where his family's home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike. in November.

The three boys - Hazem, Amir and Muhammad - were killed after the car they were traveling in was bombed in Gaza's Al-Shati camp, Hamas said. Three of Mr. Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the attack, Hamas-controlled media said.

The Israeli military's statement did not mention other victims of the airstrike.

"The blood of my sons is not more expensive than the blood of our people," 61-year-old Ismail Haniyeh, who has 13 sons and daughters, told Al Jazeera television, according to Hamas sources.

The three sons and three grandsons were visiting family on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Shati, their refugee camp in Gaza City, their relatives said.

Hamas said on Tuesday it was considering an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in the more than six-month-old Gaza war, but stressed that it did not meet any of the Palestinian demands.

"Our demands are clear and concrete and we will not make concessions. The enemy is delusional if he thinks that targeting my boys, at the height of negotiations and before our movement has given its response, will push Hamas to change his position," said Mr. Haniyeh.

In the seventh month of the war, in which Israel's air and ground offensive has devastated Gaza, Hamas is demanding an end to Israeli military operations, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinians to their homes. displaced.

Mr Haniyeh's eldest son confirmed in a Facebook post the killing of his three brothers. "Thank God for honoring us with the martyrdom of my brothers, Hazem, Amir and Muhammed and their children," said Abdel-Salam Haniyeh's post.

Appointed as the militant group's top leader in 2017, Haniyeh has shuttled between Turkey and the Qatari capital, Doha, avoiding travel restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza and enabling him to act as a negotiator in peace talks. end of the ceasefire and communicate with Hamas' main ally, Iran.

Israel considers the entire leadership of Hamas to be terrorists, accusing Mr. Haniyeh and other leaders of continuing to "direct the operations of the Hamas terrorist organization."

But it is not clear how much Ismail Haniyeh knew about the Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel by Gaza-based militants. The plan for the attack, drawn up by Hamas' military council in Gaza, was top secret, and some Hamas officials abroad seemed shocked by its timing and scale./ VOA