Israeli airstrike ‘kills at least ten’ members of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s family, including his sister, just weeks after three of his sons and four grandchildren were wiped out in similar attack

At least 10 relatives of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, including his sister, according to officials in Gaza.

The attack hit the home of the Haniyeh family in the Al-Shati refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, said Mahmud Basal, a civil defense spokesman.

Photos showed the building reduced to rubble as rescuers worked on the scene. The victims were pulled out and taken to the local hospital, where white body bags were placed on the ground and distraught mourners gathered.

The attack came just weeks after Haniyeh lost three sons and four grandchildren in an Israeli airstrike on their car nearby.

Before their deaths, Haniyeh is said to have had thirteen sons and daughters. The Qatar-based Hamas leader said at the time that about 60 members of his family had been killed since the war with Israel broke out on October 7.

A man stands in the rubble of Ismail Haniyeh’s sister’s house after it was razed by Israeli bombardment

Ismail Haniyeh is the head of Hamas’s political bureau and is based in Qatar

Haniyeh previously appeared calm when he was told the news of the deaths of his three sons, Hazem, Mohammed and Amir, along with four of their children

Gaza’s Civil Protection Organization confirmed that today’s attack killed 10 relatives of the political bureau chief, including his sister Zahr Haniyeh.

He said there were probably a number of bodies still under the rubble, but “we don’t have the necessary equipment” to get them out.

Civil defense crews transferred the bodies to Al-Ahli Hospital in nearby Gaza City, Basal added, also reporting that “several people were injured” in the attack.

The Israeli military said it was “aware of the reports, but we cannot confirm them.”

Haniyeh previously appeared calm when he was told the news of the deaths of his three sons, Hazem, Mohammed and Amir, along with their children.

The family members were killed in an attack near the Al-Shati refugee camp.

Israel claimed that Mohammed and Hazem were military operatives of Hamas, while Amir was a cell commander.

Their father, 61, later confirmed the news to Al Jazeera, telling the broadcaster: “I am grateful to God for the honor he has given me in the deaths of three of my children and some of my grandchildren.”

Men search the rubble of the house, with rescuers saying they do not have the equipment to retrieve all the victims

The strike reportedly hit the Haniyeh family’s home in the Al-Shati refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip

Outraged relatives of the deceased look at body bags of the victims of an air strike

Bodies of ten people, including the sister of Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh, are taken to al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.

‘My sons received this honor. They stayed with our Palestinian people in Gaza, did not leave or flee,” he said, adding: “The blood of my sons is not more expensive than the blood of our people.”

The terror leader targeted Israel, stating that they were “driven by the spirit of revenge” and claiming that around 60 members of his family had been killed since the war began.

Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel, which on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to a count based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s blistering air, land and sea campaign has since killed at least 37,626 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.