Turkish President Erdogan extends condolences to Hamas leader over death of family members in Israeli strike

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) – In a phone call, the Turkish president extended condolences to Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, over the death of several of his family members in an Israeli airstrike, the Turkish Communications Directorate said Wednesday.

During the call, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Israel will be held accountable for its crimes against humanity before the law.

Three sons of Haniyeh, along with several of his grandchildren, were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike in a refugee camp in western Gaza City.

The Israeli airstrike targeted a car carrying members of the Haniyeh family in the Al-Shati refugee camp as they were giving good wishes to the camp's residents for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

Medical sources told Anadolu that the airstrike resulted in the deaths of three of Haniyeh's sons – Hazem, Amir, and Mohammed – as well as several of their own children, in addition to injuring others.

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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​