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A Hamas official in Gaza says his son, Azzam, was “severely wounded” in a deadly Israeli attack on Gaza City.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City has killed one person and wounded the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas’ political organization and the group’s chief negotiator with Israel.
The attack took place in the Gaza City neighborhood of Daraj on Wednesday and injured nine other Palestinians, according to medics.
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Two other planes that day killed four others, including Major colonel in the Gaza police.
Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera that her son Azzam was “severely injured” in the attack.
He identified the victim as Hamza al-Sharbasi.
“I say to the work and to all who hear us, we are the right people. The killing of our children or the killing of our leaders will not threaten us,” said al-Hayya. “Our children are the children of the Palestinian nation, and my son and the children of all other people are the children of our nation without any difference. We treat them the same way.”
Al-Hayya had already lost three sons in previous Israeli attempts on his life – two in Gaza in 2008 and 2014, while the third was killed in an assassination attempt on the Israeli leadership of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.
“Fighting Azzam Khalil Al-Hayya with bullets represents a serious threat and degradation,” said Taher al-Nono, a Hamas operative and supporter of Hayya, in a Facebook post.
“Shooting and killing only makes the negotiator stay in his position, in defense of the rights of his people, and in their will,” he said.
The attack on Azzam al-Hayya followed two other Israeli attacks on Wednesday in the north of Zeitoun in Gaza City and another in the south of al-Mawasi.
An Israeli attack in Zeitoun killed three Palestinians from the same family and wounded several others as they tried to set up a tent near the Salah al-Din mosque, according to medics.
Another attack killed Naseem al-Kalazani, head of the anti-narcotics unit in Khan Younis, when Israeli forces targeted his vehicle near the al-Mawasi area.
At least 17 others were injured, according to medics.
Hamas condemned the attacks as a “flagrant violation” of a “ceasefire” agreement signed in October last year. It said the attack was “a continuation of the war to destroy our people in the Strip”.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 837 Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire” last year. Another 2,381 were injured.
In total, at least 72,619 people have been killed and 172,484 injured since Israel launched its genocidal war in Gaza in 2023. Most of the victims are children and women.
Much of Gaza remains in ruins, while the United Nations says the situation in all areas “remains difficult and often life-threatening, while humanitarian efforts continue to be strained”.
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister met earlier this week for talks renewing the murderous war Hamas refuses to commit to Israel’s disarmament.
Hamas has insisted that its weapons will only be answered as part of the framework that will reach the Palestinian state. It has also called for Israel to stop expanding its control over Gaza and increase the flow of aid there.
