Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya's son killed in Gaza, terror group confirms

Azzam al-Hayya, the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, was killed in an Israeli strike in eastern Gaza, Hamas confirmed on Thursday afternoon. The confirmation followed Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reporting that Azzam al-Hayya was killed in the strike, while Al Jazeera reported that he had been seriously wounded but not killed.A military source clarified that Hayya's son was not the target of the attack.“Khalil al-Hayya's son is of no interest to us, and if he was harmed, it was because he was somewhere he should not have been,” the military source said.“If he was harmed, it did not happen because of his family ties, because he truly is not a figure of particular interest to us.”Azzam al-Hayya was not a Nukhba terroristContrary to reports that circulated after the strike, Azzam al-Hayya was not a Nukhba terrorist, the source said. The IDF killed a Nukhba terrorist in a strike in the Daraj Tuffah area of Gaza City. Hayya's son was nearby and was either wounded or killed as collateral damage.According to the IDF, Azzam al-Hayya was a supporter and facilitator of terrorism, but he was not the target of the strike.Israel previously tried to kill Khalil al-Hayya in QatarIsrael previously attempted to assassinate Khalil al-Hayya himself in a strike in Qatar, which failed to hit Hamas's senior leadership abroad.Nearly a month after the failed assassination attempt in Qatar, the Qatari channel Al-Araby aired its first interview with Hayya. In the interview, he addressed the strike and those killed in it, describing his sense of loss and expressing solidarity with the families of the dead.“The pain over losing those close to me does not make me forget the killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip,” Hayya said in the interview, adding that he did not distinguish between “my sons” and “every Palestinian child killed by Israel.”He also framed those killed as part of the broader struggle against Israel.“We pray that their blood will be the path to victory, to Jerusalem, to the humiliation of Israel, and to the victory of the Islamic and Arab nation,” he said, according to Al-Araby.The strike in Qatar reportedly targeted a meeting of Hamas's leadership. A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera at the time that the organization's negotiating team had been attacked during a meeting in Doha discussing the Trump proposal.Al-Hadath reported at the time that the Hamas officials present at the Doha meeting included Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal, Ghazi Hamad, Muhammad Darwish, Musa Abu Marzouk, and Husam Badran.Hamas leadership vote continuesThe reports come as Hamas is said to be finalizing internal elections for its political leadership.According to a recent report by Al-Araby, Hamas has completed voting for a new leader of its political bureau in Gaza. The name of the new Gaza leader has not yet been released.That appointment is expected to take effect if Khalil al-Hayya, the current head of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza, is chosen to lead the organization's overall political bureau.Hamas still needs to complete the process of selecting the head of its political bureau in the West Bank and among its branches abroad, according to the report.The announcement of a new overall political bureau leader is expected this week. The race is reportedly between Hayya, a Gaza-born figure close to the Iranian axis, and Khaled Mashaal, who is seen as closer to Arab states and Turkey. No other candidates are reportedly in the running.