Israeli airstrike eliminates three sons of Hamas chief Haniyeh

By JNS

An Israeli Air Force strike in the Al-Shati Camp on the northern Gaza coast killed six relatives of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Arab media reported on Wednesday.

The strike, which reportedly targeted a vehicle, killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and an identical number of his grandchildren, according to Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency.

Hazem, Ameer and Mohammed Haniyeh were all members of Hamas. Ismail Haniyeh reportedly had 13 children.

The Doha-based terror leader confirmed their deaths, telling Qatar’s Al Jazeera, “I thank God for this honor that he bestowed upon us with the martyrdom of my three sons and some grandchildren.”

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the alleged airstrike.

A video circulating on social media showed the Hamas leader receiving the news while visiting wounded Palestinians from Gaza at a Doha hospital.

In October, Hamas claimed that an airstrike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood killed 14 relatives of Haniyeh. The terrorist leader’s brother and nephew were killed in the alleged strike, reports said.

Haniyeh’s sisters are Israeli citizens and live in a Bedouin town in the Negev. Earlier this month, Israeli security forces arrested one of them on suspicion of associating with and supporting Palestinian terrorists.

Haniyeh’s niece gave birth to a premature baby in February, who was treated at the neonatal intensive care unit at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva.