Israel kills 10 relatives of Hamas political leader Haniyeh, including his sister in Gaza

Palestinian sources have confirmed that at least 10 members of the family of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, including his sister, have been killed following an Israeli attack this morning on his family residence in the Shati refugee camp, north of Gaza city.

It was an attack carried out by Israeli Apache helicopters, killing at least 13 people, at least ten of whom were confirmed as members of the Haniyeh family.

The Israeli military, for its part, indicated that last night it attacked two schools in Shati and Daraj Tuffah “which were being used by Hamas terrorists, some of them involved in the October 7 attacks and the holding of hostages”, although it did not mention the attack on Haniyeh’s home.

“In preparation for the attack, aerial surveillance control, precision munitions and additional intelligence measures were used to minimize harm to civilians,” the army said, reiterating its accusation against Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

This is not the first time that Israel has attacked the family home of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has lived in self-exile in Qatar for years, a house in which two of his children reportedly lived and which had already been bombed last November, although it was not reported then.

Furthermore, on 10 April, three of Haniyeh’s children and several of his grandchildren were also killed in an Israeli attack on their vehicle while they were visiting their relatives in the Shati camp.

“From this pain and blood we create hope, future and freedom for our people, our cause and our nation,” the political bureau chief said after learning about the death of his relatives.

Palestinian media reported that two UNRWA schools were attacked in Shati and Daraj Tuffah, north of Gaza City, where at least 16 bodies were recovered.

Several attacks were also reported inside Gaza City, including one near Shifa Hospital that killed at least five people.

At least 30 people have been killed in various attacks in Gaza City since the morning, according to Palestinian medical sources.

Palestinian sources also reported attacks in Khan Yunis and Rafah, in the south of the Strip; as well as in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the enclave, where at least five members of the same family died.

“The occupation attacked with air strikes, artillery bombardment and tank fire the west of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip,” the official Palestinian agency Wafa denounced, adding that the army had assured yesterday that it was close to defeating the Hamas brigade in Rafah.

Another young Palestinian was killed and several civilians were injured in another Israeli bombing in Tal al-Sultan, west of Rafah, according to Wafa.

In more than eight months of war, more than 37,600 people were killed in the devastated Gaza Strip, most of them women and children.