Haniyeh was filmed purportedly receiving the news of his children’s deaths while visiting wounded Palestinians at a hospital in Doha, Qatar, where he has lived in exile.
“May God ease their path,” he said, visibly unmoved as he made his way out of a hospital ward.
The 62-year-old, who watched news broadcasts of the Oct 7 massacre from his hotel in the Qatari capital, accused Israel of targeting his family, saying that his sons were in al-Shati to visit relatives for Eid, the final day of Ramadan.
The IDF confirmed that it targeted and killed the three Haniyeh brothers as it described them as members of Hamas’s military wing. It said it could not verify reports that their children also died in the strike.
The Haniyeh brothers were travelling with family members in a single vehicle targeted by an Israeli drone, Al-Aqsa TV said. Footage from the scene showed an SUV stranded in the street with houses nearby damaged by a blast wave.
The death of his sons could bolster Hanieyh’s reputation within Hamas following months of accusations that he had been watching the devastating war in Gaza from the safety of Doha while other senior Hamas figures, including Yahya Sinwar, the head of its military wing, refused to leave the enclave.
Dozens of Haniyeh’s relatives have died in the war but the three sons and three grandchildren would be the most immediate family members he has lost.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
