Three Sons, Two Grandchildren Of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Killed In Israeli Airstrike

Amid ceasefire talks in Cairo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a date has been set for its invasion of Rafah, Gaza's last refuge for the displaced Palestinians.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh ( Image Source :Getty Images )

New Delhi: Three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Islamist group and Haniyeh's family. His three sons - Hazem, Amir and Mohammad – were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in was bombed in Gaza's Al-Shati camp, Hamas stated, news agency Reuters reported. Two of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the attack and a third one was injured, as per the report.

"Our demands are clear and specific and we will not make concessions on them. The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position," Haniyeh told Al Jazeera TV.

"The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people," he added.

Haniyeh's oldest son confirmed in a Facebook post that his three brothers were killed.

"Thanks to God who honoured us by the martyrdom of my brothers, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad and their children," Abdel-Salam Haniyeh wrote on the social media platform.

Haniyeh has been the outspoken representative of Hamas' international diplomacy as war with Israel has continued to rage in the Gaza Strip, where his family residence was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in November last year.

Appointed to the group's top position in 2017, Haniyeh has travelled between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, avoiding Israeli-imposed travel limits in blockaded Gaza and enabling him to act as a negotiator in the latest ceasefire negotiations, or communicate with Hamas' main ally Iran, as per the report.

Meanwhile, amid ceasefire talks in Cairo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a date has been set for its invasion of Rafah, Gaza's last refuge for the displaced Palestinians, news agency AFP reported.