Global calls for a ceasefire amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war have been growing.
However, there has been little sign of progress in the talks in recent days.
Hamas is demanding an end to the Israeli offensive, a withdrawal of Israeli forces, and for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
Israel, on the other hand, says that it will not end the war until Hamas is destroyed and still plans a ground assault on the southern city of Rafah, where 1.5 million civilians have taken refuge.
A framework being circulated would halt fighting for six weeks and see the exchange of about 40 captives for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as more aid deliveries.
Meanwhile, the killing of Hamas political chief, Ismail Haniyeh’s relatives is sure to further complicate negotiations aimed at securing a halt in the fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of the Israeli captives still believed to be held in the besieged enclave.
Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari disclosed that fighter jets attacked “three military operatives” in central Gaza, referring to a car carrying Haniyeh’s children.
He identified the three as Amir, Hazem and Mohammad Haniyeh.
Hagari added that the Israeli army “confirms” that they are “the children of Ismail Haniyeh.”
At least three of Haniyeh’s grandchildren were also killed in the attack.
Haniyeh told a news agency that they were visiting relatives for Eid at the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza when they were targeted.
An Israeli news agency, citing senior officials, reported that no top political leaders were involved in the decision to carry out an air strike that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s children and grandchildren.
The strike, according to the report, was planned by the Israeli military and Shin Bet intelligence service, without consulting either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Haniyeh’s three sons were killed not because of their relation to their father, but because of their role in Hamas’s military wing, it said.
It did not address the killing of Haniyeh’s four grandchildren, three girls and a boy, in the attack.
Sultan Barakat, Professor of conflict and humanitarian studies at Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, told a news agency that the assassination of Haniyeh’s family members could have been specifically carried out to derail the ceasefire negotiations.
He said that the Israeli military would have identified the three children and the three grandchildren of Haniyeh, adding, “I think someone must have taken the decision to go ahead.”
“We have seen, over the last ten days or so, the moral tide turning against Netanyahu and this coalition across the world” he said.
According to Barakat, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in the latest round of ceasefire talks, had “to climb down more than Hamas.”
Iterating Barakat’s claim, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, stated that the Israeli military’s killing of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh’s children and grandchildren shows Netanyahu’s desperation to “undermine” ongoing ceasefire talks.
“Netanyahu has failed in the last few weeks to spoil the negotiations and he is under pressure from the Americans, the international community, and internal Israeli society.
“[Netanyahu] is now using all the dirty tools — by killing our children, our wives, and by assassinating leaders or some people in Damascus… He is insisting on undermining any chance to reach a ceasefire agreement.”
Basem Naim
On X, Israeli Politician, Yair Golan posted that the targeting of Haniyeh’s children and grandchildren, was timed poorly.
“However justified and appropriate [the killings] may be, carrying out such dramatic actions, on the eve of a possible deal for the release of the abductees, constitutes another serious layer in their lawlessness,” Golan stated.
No One From Hamas Immune From Israeli Attacks
Meanwhile, Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich congratulated the Israeli army and Israel following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s three children.
“None of the leaders of Hamas who … still hold our hostages, is immune from our long hand. With God’s help we will reach everyone,” he said in a post on X.
Smotrich, the far-right leader of one of the pro-settler parties in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, has repeatedly called for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
He has also reportedly threatened to leave Netanyahu’s coalition if Israel strikes a deal with Hamas that he perceives as unfavourable.
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