Israel’s military has confirmed Wednesday that an airstrike carried out in the Gaza Strip has killed three of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s sons.
“The three operatives that were struck are Amir Haniyeh, a cell commander in the Hamas military wing, Mohammad Haniyeh, a military operative in the Hamas terrorist organization, and Hazem Haniyeh, also a military operative in the Hamas terror organization,” the IDF and Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency said in a joint statement, adding that the trio “conducted terrorist activity in the central Gaza Strip.”
Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV station said Hazem, Ameer and Mohammed Haniyeh were killed in a strike near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, according to The Associated Press. Ismail Haniyeh, who is originally from Shati, has 13 children and has been living in exile in Qatar.
“The criminal enemy is driven by the spirit of revenge and murder and does not value any standards or laws,” he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday during a phone interview.
IRAN’S LEADER SAYS 4 THREATENING WORDS TO ISRAEL, BLASTS THE US AND WEST FOR ‘DISASTER’ IN GAZA
“The enemy believes that by targeting the families of the leaders, it will push them to give up the demands of our people,” he reportedly added. “Anyone who believes that targeting my sons will push Hamas to change its position is delusional.”
Al-Aqsa TV station aired footage of Haniyeh purportedly receiving the news of the deaths while visiting wounded Palestinians who had been transported to a hospital in Doha. As an aide received the news on his phone, Haniyeh nodded, looked down at the ground and slowly walked out of the room.
The strike happened after Iran’s leader on Wednesday threatened to take action against Israel during a prayer ceremony. He also criticized the U.S. and the West for their involvement amid tensions in the region.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke at a prayer ceremony celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when he promised to retaliate against Israel — saying “it will be punished” — for an airstrike that demolished Iran’s consulate in Syria earlier this month.
In his remarks, Khamenei said the strike, which left several Iranian generals dead, was “wrongdoing” and akin to an attack on Iran itself.
Fox News’ Ben Evansky, Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
