Three sons and three grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh have reportedly been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, according to local media reports.
A vehicle carrying the family members of Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, was reportedly targeted near Al Shati (“Beach Camp”), northwest of Gaza City.
A doctor at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City told a CNN reporter that three dead adults and three dead children had been brought to the hospital.
Haniyeh has said he is aware of the reports that his family members have been killed. “I got word that the enemy struck a car with my sons. And they became martyrs,” he told Al Jazeera. “They were martyred in Al Shati refugee camp,” Haniyeh continued.
The Hamas leader said that “targeting leaders’ houses and families” would only increase Hamas’ determination.
“Whoever thinks that by targeting my kids during the negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed upon, it will force Hamas to back down on its demands, is delusional,” Haniyeh added.
Haniyeh told Al Jazeera that the deaths will not affect the group’s demands in ceasefire talks with Israel, which have failed to yield an agreement despite growing international pressure.
“Our demands are clear and specific, and we will not make concessions on them. The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position,” Haniyeh said.
“The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people,” he added.
Hamas has, in public at least, stuck with its initial demands of a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern parts of the territory without restrictions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, insists that Israel will continue fighting until Hamas is destroyed and hostages are free.
Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known.
The framework that has been laid out by negotiators says that during a first six-week pause in the fighting, Hamas should release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.
Hamas has told international mediators, which include Qatar and Egypt, that it does not have 40 living hostages who match those criteria for release, both sources said. CNN’s record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.
The inability — or unwillingness — of Hamas to tell Israel which hostages would be released, alive, is a major obstacle, the second source added. With Hamas appearing to be unable to reach 40 in the proposed categories, Israel has pushed for Hamas to fill out the initial release with younger male hostages, including soldiers, the Israeli official said.
Throughout the months of negotiations since the last ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly asked for a list of the hostages and their conditions. Hamas has argued that they need a break in the fighting to be able to track and gather down the hostages, the same argument they made in November before a week-long pause that broke down after Hamas failed to deliver more hostages.
The majority of the almost 100 hostages who remain alive are believed to be male IDF soldiers or men of military reserve age. Hamas is expected to try to use them in later phases to try to negotiate more significant concessions, including more high-level prisoners and a permanent end to the war.