The Israeli military has taken responsibility for overnight airstrikes in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of family members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, including his sister.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Israeli army confirmed that its fighter jets targeted two buildings in the Beach refugee camp and the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza, asserting that Hamas had utilized these locations.
The military statement further indicated that the strikes targeted Hamas members allegedly involved in an October 7 attack on Israeli sites near Gaza and in holding Israeli captives within Gaza. According to the statement, these operations were executed using precision munitions based on intelligence gathered.
While the Israeli army did not explicitly acknowledge the deaths of Haniyeh’s family members in its statement, Israeli Army Radio reported the airstrikes that resulted in their deaths.
The Palestinian Civil Defense reported recovering the bodies of 13 individuals killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting two schools serving as shelters and a residence in Gaza.
The airstrikes have sparked international outcry, with Israel defying a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack, Israel’s sustained military campaign in Gaza has drawn condemnation, resulting in the deaths of over 37,600 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, and injuring nearly 86,100 others, according to local health authorities.
After more than eight months of conflict, significant portions of Gaza are in ruins, exacerbated by severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies due to a blockade.
The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of genocide and issued a recent ruling demanding an immediate cessation of its operations in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians sought refuge before being invaded on May 6.
