Israeli drone targeted Haniyeh family's car in Gaza, says Israeli media

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – Wednesday’s killing in the Gaza Strip of three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with several of his grandchildren, was carried out by a missile launched from an Israeli drone, according to an Israeli media outlet.

“Eliminating members of the Haniyeh family constitutes another link in Israel's pursuit of the Hamas leadership,” Israeli Channel 14 said late Wednesday.

The assassination “was carried out by a drone belonging to the air force using a missile that accurately targeted the car carrying members of the Haniyeh family,” it added.

“The liquidation of the Haniyeh family was the result of cooperation between the fire control center in the Southern Command (of the Israeli army), the air force, and Shin Bet (security agency), which provided accurate information,” it said.

Separately, the Israeli broadcasting authority quoted an anonymous Israeli security official as saying: “The target of the assassination was the three sons of Haniyeh.”

In the first comment from an Israeli deputy on the incident, Knesset member Almog Cohen, from the far-right Jewish Power party, said: “I received excellent news about the assassination of 3 of Ismail Haniyeh's sons and two of his grandchildren."

Cohen also threatened Haniyeh in a televised statement quoted by local daily Israel Hayom, saying: "You're next."

Earlier on Wednesday, eyewitnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli airstrike targeted a car carrying members of the Haniyeh family who were in the Al-Shati refugee camp to wish people a happy Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday following the holy month of Ramadan.

The eyewitnesses said the airstrike effectively destroyed the car, leading to the death and injury of everyone inside.

Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 33,500 people, since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200. 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 Israel to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​