Sister of top Hamas leader Haniyeh killed in airstrike in Gaza

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The sister of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly killed on Tuesday in an Israeli aerial strike in the Al-Shati, a Hamas stronghold neighborhood close to Gaza City.

His sister, Zahr Abdel Salam Haniyeh, was one of 30 people killed during the strike and one of 10 relatives of the Hamas senior leader, according to reports from the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry.

Mahmoud Bassel, the spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defense commented on the incident, stating: "We received a distress signal after the home of the Haniyeh family was attacked in the Al-Shati camp."

Hamas condemned the aerial operation.

"The bombing of the Haniyeh family home in the Al-Shati camp, in which 10 civilians were killed, including the sister of the head of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, is a confirmation of the fascist government's continued defiance of all international laws and values," the terrorist organization said in a statement.

Haniyeh, who currently resides in the Qatari capital Doha, blasted the aerial operation and vowed to continue the war against Israel.

"If the criminal enemy thinks targeting my family will change our position or that of the resistance, they are delusional, because every martyr in Gaza and Palestine is from my family," Haniyeh reportedly said.

"We still claim that any agreement that does not guarantee a cease-fire and an end to the aggression is not an agreement. Our position will not change at any point," he added, referring to the terror group's demand that Israel end its military operations and remove its troops from Gaza.

In April, Haniyeh’s three sons Hazem, Amir and Mohammad were killed in an Israeli aerial strike in the same neighborhood of Al-Shati. The Israeli military conducted the operation in cooperation with Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet.

At the time, the IDF confirmed the strike against “three military operatives” of Hamas, emphasizing that the Haniyeh's sons were “on their way to carry out terrorist activities in the central area of the Gaza Strip.”

Amir Haniyeh was reportedly a squad commander in Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The other two sons were lower-ranking operatives. Israeli Army Radio also reported that one of the Haniyeh sons had been involved in the kidnapping of Israeli hostages.

Haniyeh officially praised his sons as “martyrs.”

"Thank God for the honor he gave us with the martyrdom of three of my sons and several of my grandchildren. With this pain and blood, we create hope, a future and freedom for our people, our cause and our nation," Haniyeh told the Al Jazeera news network.

Israel has signaled a willingness for a temporary truce in exchange for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas and allied terrorists in Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the war in Gaza would continue until Hamas is dismantled as a military and political force.

Netanyahu recently announced that the intensive military operation against Hamas would be soon coming to an end in the southern town of Rafah. However, senior Israeli officials have stressed that the goal of uprooting Hamas from Gaza would take time and continue during a protracted lower-intensive phase.

Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, a close Netanyahu aide, announced on Tuesday that the IDF would soon begin implementing Jerusalem’s “day after” plan in the northern part of Gaza even before Hamas is dismantled as a force.

“We don’t need to wait for Hamas to disappear because maybe that process will take a long time,” Hanegbi said.