Three sons of Hamas’ most senior political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, were killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, according to relatives and Hamas media channels. Haniyeh himself acknowledged the death of more family members, and he warned Israel that it would not “break the resolve of our people.”
Ameer, Hazem and Mohammed Haniyeh were killed near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Hamas said. There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces about the strike, which hit a vehicle near a home belonging to the Haniyeh family, according to the group.
“All the people of Gaza paid a high price and saw the blood of their sons being shed, and I am one of them,” Haniyeh told the Al Jazeera network in a live interview Wednesday. He said a number of his grandchildren were also killed, and the group had been targeted when they were visiting relatives for Eid, according to Al Jazeera.
“The occupation thinks that by targeting sons of the leaders, they will break the resolve of our people,” Haniyeh said. “We will not retreat, and we are going to go all the way to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.”
Majid Asgaripour/WANA/REUTERS
He said 60 members of his family had been killed since Israel launched its war in Gaza against Hamas, which was sparked by the group’s bloody Oct. 7 terror attack.
Israel and the U.S. have long considered Hamas a terrorist organization, but it is also one of the two main Palestinian political factions. Haniyeh, as the head of the group’s politburo, has been based for years at its office in Qatar, where he lives.
