In a tragic incident, three sons and three grandchildren of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Haniyeh confirmed the deaths of his sons – Hazem, Amir, and Mohammad Haniyeh, stating that they were martyred while on the road to liberating Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The family members were traveling in a car through Gaza’s Shati refugee camp when it was struck by a missile. Haniyeh’s eldest son, who survived the attack, expressed gratitude for the martyrdom of his brothers and their children in a Facebook post.
The Israeli military admitted to carrying out the airstrike, claiming that Haniyeh’s sons were all operatives of Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. However, it did not provide any information on other casualties or details of the operation. In a phone interview with Al Jazeera, where Haniyeh currently resides in exile in Qatar, he criticized the Israeli military for its actions, accusing them of seeking revenge and disregarding legal and ethical standards. Despite the tragedy, Haniyeh emphasized that the deaths of his family members would not pressure Hamas into making any concessions during cease-fire negotiations with Israel.
Haniyeh remained defiant in the face of the attack, stating that the enemy would be mistaken if they believed targeting his sons would force Hamas to change its stance in the ongoing negotiations. He reiterated that the blood of his sons was not more valuable than that of the Palestinian people. Appointed to Hamas’ top political post in 2017, Haniyeh has been living in exile since 2019, serving as the terrorist group’s chief diplomat and a prominent negotiator. He emphasized the importance of Hamas’ clear and specific demands in the negotiations, regardless of the personal tragedy he had suffered.
The supreme leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, was also mentioned in the context of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Sinwar was reportedly the mastermind behind an attack on Israel in October that sparked the current war, which has been ongoing for several months. The situation in the region remains tense, with both sides engaging in periodic hostilities despite efforts to negotiate a cease-fire. The tragic loss of Haniyeh’s family members highlights the human cost of the ongoing conflict and the challenges faced by Palestinian leaders in navigating difficult negotiations with Israel.
