Death toll in Israeli airstrike on Hamas leader’s family rises to 7

By Hussameldin Abdelgadir Salih Mohamed and Halime Afra Aksoy

GAZA, Palestine (AA) – The death toll from an Israeli airstrike Wednesday on family members of the head of the political bureau of Hamas rose to seven, with another grandchild dying as a result of the attack.

The airstrike targeted a car in which members of the Haniyeh family were traveling in the Al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City as they were on their way to a celebration on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, killing three of his sons and four of his grandchildren, according to a statement released by the resistance group.

The statement said Haniyeh's family members lost their lives in a "treacherous and cowardly" attack.

Eyewitnesses said the airstrike effectively destroyed the car, killing or injuring everyone inside.

The statement said those who lost their lives in the attack had stood on the same front as the Palestinian people and had joined the ranks of those from the Haniyeh family who had previously been killed along with those who perished in Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

It added that Israel's targeting of Hamas leaders and their families is "nothing more than desperate attempts by the failed enemy on the field. It is terrified in the face of the defense of Palestinian resistance" and offered condolences for the deceased.

The statement underlined that such attacks would not break the will of Hamas and the Palestinian people's resistance and would only increase their determination in the struggle.

It also noted that it is an illusion that Israel will achieve success by increasing acts of terrorism, its genocidal war and attacks on defenseless civilians amid negotiations over a hostage release and cease-fire deal.

Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

Around 33,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

It has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.