Haniyeh confirmed the deaths in an interview with the Al Jazeera satellite channel.

Three sons and three grandchildren of Hamas ’ top political leader were killed Wednesday by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, and the leader accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.”

In his interview with Al Jazeera, Haniyeh said the killings would not pressure Hamas into softening its positions.

“The enemy believes that by targeting the families of the leaders, it will push them to give up the demands of our people,” he said. “Anyone who believes that targeting my sons will push Hamas to change its position is delusional.”

“The criminal enemy is driven by the spirit of revenge and murder and does not value any standards or laws,” he said in the phone interview.

The strike came as Palestinians in Gaza marked a muted Eid al-Fitr holiday, which ends the holy fasting month of Ramadan, by visiting the graves of loved ones killed in the war.

  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    66·
    3 months ago

    Unsure, not mentioned in the article. They don’t seem to be “registered Hamas members” though israel claims them as such. But we already know that israel is using an AI system that rates Palestinians on Hamas likelihood by things like the Whatsapp groups they are in, who their family is and where they live etc.

    It seems to be a political assassination on a holiday rather than an attack on soldiers though. Acccording to France24:

    According to Al Jazeera, a drone hit the family’s car in the northern Gaza Strip’s Al-Shati refugee camp.

    An Israeli military statement said its forces killed “three Hamas operatives” who were “on their way to carry out terrorist activities” in central Gaza, identifying them as Amir, Mohammed and Hazem Haniyeh.

    They were killed in a car along with their grandchildren including a daughter which is unlikely company to bring along for an attack on the IDF.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.worldEnglish
      54·
      3 months ago

      Must be terrorist activities like picking up aid or going to school.

      IDF logic: if they’re related to Hamas, then they must be Hamas. If they get food or go to school, they are feeding Hamas and training Hamas, which is terrorism.