The Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh, 61, has reportedly lost his nephew to an Israeli attack.
Mohammed Abdul Karim Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike by Israeli warplanes at the Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City on Wednesday, according to Palestinian media outlets. It comes just seven days after Haniyeh lost three sons and three grandchildren on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr due to an Israeli air raid on their car in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas leader maintains his six relatives were targeted by the Israel Defence Forces, claiming they were visiting family for Eid at the Shati refugee camp.
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About 60 members of Haniyeh's family have been killed since the war began last October. The Islamic Republic News Agency, a Palestinian media outlet, reported that Israel's constant bombardments and ground assaults have "achieved nothing" but the deaths of tens of thousands of Gaza civilians.
The death toll in Gaza exceeds 30,000 and in January, US intelligence agencies estimated that Israel had successfully eliminated 20-30% of Hamas fighters, falling short of its goal to completely destroy the group, the Wall Street Journal.
Recent footage showed Haniyeh seemingly shrugging off the death of his relatives. After first hearing that his children were killed in an IDF airstrike, Haniyeh barely moves a muscle and shows little to no emotion as he originally planned to visit injured Palestinians at a hospital in Qatar, where he resides in exile. The bearer of bad news is heard saying "Hazem, Mohammed and Amir have been killed, along with their children."
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He then leaves the room and says "God rest their souls," before he is asked by an aide: "Shall we end the visit,?" to which the political leader replies "No, why? Let's continue" as he heads to the doors flanked by allies and officials.
The Hamas leader reportedly has 13 sons and daughters. Israeli officials claimed Mohammed and Hazem were Hamas military operatives and Amir was a cell commander. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Haniyeh said "I am grateful to God for the honour he has given me in the deaths of three of my children and a few of my grandchildren."
He added "My sons were awarded this honour. They remained with our Palestinian people in Gaza, did not leave and did not run. The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people."