Hamas leader's three sons killed in Gaza attack

The Israeli military and domestic intelligence confirmed that three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an airstrike targeting what they described as “military agents” of the Palestinian Islamist movement.

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“Amir Haniyeh, the cell commander of the military wing of Hamas, Mohammad Haniyeh, a military operative of the Hamas terrorist organization, and Hazem Haniyeh, a military operative of the Hamas terrorist organization,” said an army. The report said.

“I thank God for honoring us with the sacrifice of my three sons and some of my grandchildren,” said the Doha-based Mr. Haniyeh told Qatari channel Al Jazeera.

According to Al-Jazeera, which broadcast images of car wrecks and mangled bodies, the strike hit vehicles carrying members of Ismail Haniyeh's family.

In a statement, Hamas confirmed the deaths of three of its leader's sons and four of his grandchildren in the Shaadi refugee camp in Gaza City, north of the devastated Palestinian territory.

“This bloodshed will only make us more determined in our principles,” said Mr. Honey said.

The Israeli military did not immediately retaliate.

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after an unprecedented attack by Islamist movement commandos who infiltrated from Gaza in southern Israel claimed the lives of 1,170 people, according to a report AFP established from official Israeli figures.

Mr. The strike, which targeted Haniyeh's sons, occurred on the first day of the Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and is unlike any other this year.

This came even as Hamas had to respond to a cease-fire plan proposed by Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators.

The plan calls for a six-week ceasefire, the release of 42 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 800 to 900 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, the entry of 400 to 500 aid trucks into Gaza each day, and the return of residents of northern Gaza. , according to a Hamas source.

During the October 7 attack, more than 250 people were abducted and 129 were detained in Gaza, 34 of whom died, Israeli officials said.

Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, has seized power in Gaza since 2007.

Biden's criticisms

According to the Hamas Health Ministry, new Israeli attacks on Wednesday hit the north and center of the Palestinian territories, including the Nowsirat camp, killing 14 people, including children.

In the last 24 hours and according to the same ministry, 122 additional deaths were recorded in the territory besieged by Israel, bringing the number of people killed in Israeli military operations since the start of the war to 33,482.

In an interview broadcast by the Spanish-language channel Univision on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden, Israel's most powerful ally, said it was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's “mistake” to wage war in Gaza.

Amid the rubble or in their shelters, many Palestinians gathered mournfully in the Gaza Strip for Eid prayers around small cakes made despite the shortages.

“We have never experienced such a great day of sadness, fear, destruction and devastation,” said Ahmed Kishta, a father of four who became a refugee in Rafah (south) after fleeing the city from Gaza. “We try to be happy, but it's hard, hard, hard.”

“Our hearts are not celebrating because we lost everyone we loved,” said Hikmat Abo Ansa, a 43-year-old displaced person in Rafah.

“So sad”

At the Esplanade des Mosques in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands of worshipers had gathered, the war in Gaza was on everyone's mind.

“This is the saddest Eid we have ever experienced,” said Rawan Abd, a 32-year-old nurse.

“What I'm asking is that the Israelis call for a ceasefire and for the next six or eight weeks allow them full access to food and medicine coming into the country,” Joe said.

Israel, for its part, maintains plans for a ground assault on Rafah, on the border with Egypt, which it sees as Hamas's last major stronghold. Although it has a population of 1.5 million, according to the UN, the majority are displaced.

Mr. Biden's interview was recorded before Israeli soldiers withdrew from the large city of Khan Yunis (south) on Sunday and in recent days, according to Israel, an increase in military-authorized humanitarian aid entering the border.

Israel announced that it was withdrawing its troops from Khan Yunis, which had been reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrikes and fighting, and to prepare an assault on Rafah, 3 km to the south.

Now only one brigade is stationed in the Gaza Strip, in the center of the territory, according to the military.