Hamas leader announces death of three of his children in Israeli bombing in Gaza

The head of HamasIsmail Haniyeh, stated this Wednesday that three of his children and several of his grandchildren died in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip. The leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, who lives in Taste, confirmed to Al Jazeera the “martyrdom” his “three children” and some of his “grandchildren”.

According to the Qatari network, a drone hit the family’s vehicle in the Al Shati refugee camp, in the north of the narrow Palestinian territory, governed by Hamas since 2007.

From a hospital in Doha, where he was informed of the bombing, Haniyeh told Al Jazeera that he almost “60 members” of his family had been “martyred”including his grandchildren, his brother’s children, his sister’s children and his cousins.

The top official of Hamas pointed out that, by attacking relatives of the group’s leaders, “the Israeli occupation” seeks to break “the determination of our people.”

According to Haniyeh, however, Israeli actions will fail to force Hamas’s hand in negotiations to reach a truce and the release of hostages.

“All our people and all the families of Gaza have paid a high price in blood, and I am one of them”he added.

The bombing occurs at a time when there appears to be no progress in the ceasefire talks, led by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Israel did not immediately react to the attack.

The conflict began on October 7 with the Hamas attack in southern Israel, which left 1,170 dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Islamist fighters took more than 250 hostages, of whom 129 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says have been killed.

In response, Israel launched an offensive that has left 33,482 dead in Gaza, most of them women, adolescents and children, according to the Hamas government’s Health Ministry.

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