Three sons and three grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to Hamas-affiliated media and Haniyeh.
Shehab, the Hamas-affiliated news agency, said in a Telegram post that three of Haniyeh’s sons and three of his grandchildren died in a bombing by Israeli forces. Haniyeh confirmed the deaths in an interview with Al Jazeera’s satellite channel and said that Israel acted in “the spirit of revenge and murder.”
The Hamas-run media office also condemned the deaths of the Haniyeh family in a statement. The office said the airstrike hit “a civilian car in which a number of his sons and grandchildren were traveling.”
Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV station also reported the deaths, according to The Associated Press. The station reported that the family members were killed near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
Haniyeh said in the Al Jazeera interview that the deaths would not alter Hamas’s demands in the cease-fire discussions.
“If they think that targeting my children at the peak of these talks before the movement’s [Hamas’s] response is submitted will cause Hamas to change its positions, they are delusional,” Haniyeh said, according to the outlet.
The deaths came as Palestinians in Gaza observed the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. It also comes as international negotiators attempt to broker a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to release the hostages, who have been held for more than six months.
Hamas told negotiators that it does not have 40 Israeli hostages that it can release as part of a temporary cease-fire deal with Israel.
President Biden has expressed his frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days, telling Univision in an interview Tuesday that Israel’s approach to the war in Gaza is a “mistake.”
“So what I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a cease-fire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” Biden told Univision. “There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now.”
The Associated Press contributed.