The Hamas armed group announced on April 10 that three sons of supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh, including Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, and four of his grandchildren were killed after their vehicle was hit by an Israeli airstrike near the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip.
Mr. Haniyeh received the news of seven deaths in one day while visiting some wounded Palestinians in a hospital in Qatar. An assistant put the phone on speakerphone and the other end of the line told him the bad news from Gaza.
Haniyeh did not show much emotion at that time, just slightly quiet, bowed his head and said: "May God help them rest in peace." When his assistant asked him if he wanted to stop the hospital visit, Haniyeh replied "no" and suggested everyone continue their activities.
The moment Haniyeh received the news that her sons and grandchildren were killed on April 10. Video: Al-Aqsa TV
Al-Aqsa TV said the Israeli military deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that fired a missile at the vehicle.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency confirmed that they had killed three of Haniyeh's sons in an airstrike, accusing them of being Hamas agents and "on their way to carry out an attack in the central Gaza Strip". Amir was a squad leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, while Hazem and Mohammad were also members of the Brigade but of a lower rank.
However, the IDF statement did not mention Haniyeh's four nephews who were also killed in the attack.
The car carrying Haniyeh's children and grandchildren was completely destroyed in the airstrike. Photo: Al Jazeera
In a subsequent interview, the Hamas leader said his three sons and four grandchildren were hit by an airstrike while on their way to visit relatives in the Al-Shati refugee camp. He revealed that 60 members of his extended family had been killed since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began last October.
The Hamas leader said that the Israeli airstrike on his family members was evidence of Tel Aviv's "failure", adding that this would not change the militant group's stance in the ongoing negotiations. Haniyeh stressed that Hamas would not back down from its demands, which include establishing a permanent ceasefire and allowing Palestinian refugees to return home.
Haniyeh at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon in June 2021. Photo: AP
The Hamas leader also criticized what he described as Israeli brutality in the Gaza Strip, stressing that Palestinian leaders would not back down even if their relatives were targeted.
According to local health authorities, the conflict has left 33,482 people dead and 76,049 injured in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children.
Pham Giang (According to ToI, Al Jazeera, AFP )
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