Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh has confirmed that three of his sons and at least two of his grandchildren were killed in an air strike in Gaza.
Hamas-linked media said the car his sons were travelling in was hit in Al-Shati camp near Gaza City.
Haniyeh said that the incident would not change Hamas’s demands in talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire deal.
Israel’s military said the three men were members of Hamas’s military wing.
News of the deadly strike came as Palestinians in Gaza marked Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, amid the continuing conflict.
Haniyeh told the broadcaster Al Jazeera that three sons – Hazem, Amir, and Muhammad – had remained in Gaza during the war.
He said he heard the news as he was visiting wounded Palestinians who had been taken for treatment to the Qatari capital, Doha, which is where the Hamas leader lives.
“The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the [ceasefire] negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position,” he told Al Jazeera.
In comments reported on Hamas’s Telegram channel, he thanked God for the “honour” bestowed on him by what he called the “martyrdom of his children and grandchildren”.
Israel’s military said it had “eliminated three Hamas military wing operatives in the central Gaza Strip”, adding that they were the sons of Ismail Haniyeh. The statement did not mention the reported deaths of Haniyeh’s grandchildren.
