Gaza Genocideupdated 25m ago3 min read
MapIsraeli Airstrike Kills Three Sons Of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh In Gaza
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This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Israeli airstrike in Gaza's Shati camp killed three of Ismail Haniyeh's sons. Several of Haniyeh's grandchildren were reported killed in the same strike.
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Strike kills Haniyeh sons
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the Israeli army confirmed the deaths while describing the men as “Hamas military operatives.” The strike hit a vehicle traveling through the Al Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, and the BBC reported that Haniyeh said several of his grandchildren also died in the attack. Haniyeh told Al Jazeera from Qatar that “All of Gaza’s citizens paid a price with the blood of their children, including me,” and he later confirmed that three of his sons and three of his grandchildren had been killed.
The sources also tied the attack to ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks, with the Times of Israel describing Haniyeh’s insistence that the killing would not rule out a deal. The IDF said the airstrike was carried out in response to Hamas attacks, and it described the three men as “three Hamas military operatives that conducted terrorist activity in the central Gaza Strip.”
Haniyeh rejects impact
Haniyeh told Al Jazeera that “The blood of my sons is not more precious than the blood of our Martyr Nation in Gaza,” framing the deaths as no change to Hamas demands for a truce. Haniyeh also told Reuters that “The interests of the Palestinian people are placed ahead of everything,” while he said Hamas was seeking to reach a deal even after the strike. The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the attack and described the men as “three Hamas military operatives that conducted terrorist activity in the central Gaza Strip.”
CNN reported that Israeli officials said the operation was “not related to the negotiations on the release of the hostages,” and it also said two other Israeli officials said Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were not told about the strike ahead of time. Haniyeh’s statements came as the sources described fresh efforts in Cairo to bring a temporary halt to months of fighting, with CNN saying the ceasefire and hostage talks were stuttering.
Negotiations and wider war
The sources linked the strike to the wider negotiation process, with CNN saying a US proposal made in Cairo over the weekend included pushing Israel to release a higher number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for expected 40 Israeli hostages freed during the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire deal. CNN also reported that Hamas indicated it was currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than publicly known. The BBC described the war’s scale, saying the Israeli army’s actions have caused the deaths of more than 33,000 people, mostly civilians, and it said Qatar and Egypt were mediating between representatives of Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire.
Haniyeh’s death toll claims also varied across sources, with Antena 3 Noticias saying he lamented the deaths of three children and two grandchildren and quoting him: “Praise be to God for this honor granted to us through the martyrdom of my three children and some grandchildren.” The BBC also said Haniyeh received the news in Doha while visiting wounded Palestinians in the Qatari capital, and it described him as a key figure in shaping Hamas’s strategy and decision-making.