Three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an IAF airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday, an anonymous senior Israeli diplomatic official said, while at the same time there were widespread denials that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz knew about the attack.
It was unclear if the later denial was legitimate or if Netanyahu or some other officials may have known about it, but decided afterward that the cost of the attack to the hostage negotiations or with being rebuked by the US was too high to take credit. In general, the IDF has been careful in such situations, especially with hostage talks ongoing, to clear top level of attacks with the political echelon.
All three sons were part of Hamas’s so-called military wing, Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, and Israel is ready to go after any member of Hamas involved in violence, the official said.
The airstrike was initially reported by Hamas-affiliated news agency Shehab, with The Jerusalem Post also receiving indirect confirmation, before the senior diplomatic official confirmed the report.
Al Mayadeen, a Beirut-based news channel aligned with Iran, quoted Palestinian sources as saying the strike had also killed several of Haniyeh’s grandchildren who were in a vehicle in Gaza City’s Al-Shati refugee camp.
Haniyeh later confirmed that three of his sons and three of his grandchildren had been killed in the airstrike.
“All of Gaza’s citizens paid a price with the blood of their children, including me,” he was quoted as saying.
That area has been under IDF control for several months.
Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, lives in Qatar, alongside other members of Hamas’s political leadership.
The terrorist group’s leader inside Gaza is Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding in southern Gaza, surrounded by Israeli hostages.
An airstrike in October reportedly killed 14 other members of Haniyeh’s family, including his brother and nephew. His granddaughter Roaa Haniyeh was also reportedly killed by the IDF, as was his oldest grandson, Jamal. In February, Palestinian sources said Haniyeh’s son, Hazem, had also been killed.
Fighting continues in central Gaza, IAF strikes Hezbollah
Meanwhile, IAF fighter jets carried out retaliatory strikes against a terrorist cell in the Gaza Strip that launched a rocket toward Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Tuesday. The rocket was shot down by the IDF. In response, an IAF fighter jet struck the compound and launcher from which the rocket was fired.
The Nahal Brigade continued operations in central Gaza on Wednesday and killed several terrorists, the IDF said.
Rockets were fired at soldiers operating in the Shejaia neighborhood of Gaza City. In response, an IAF jet located and destroyed the launcher.
An IAF aircraft struck another Hamas terrorist cell that posed a threat to soldiers operating in Shejaia.
The IAF also struck dozens of other terrorist targets in Gaza, including military sites, launchers, tunnel shafts, and infrastructure, the IDF said.
In the North, Hezbollah fired a few rockets and sent an attack drone into Israel. No casualties or damage was reported, the IDF said.