TEL AVIV, April 10. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has eliminated three sons of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, in the Gaza Strip, the IDF press service confirmed.

According to the IDF statement, they were eliminated in an airstrike in the central Gaza Strip, which was carried out based on the intelligence obtained by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA).

The IDF said that the targeted three sons of Haniyeh - Amir, Mohammad and Hazem - were involved in the activity of Hamas armed groups.

"The IDF confirms that the three operatives are the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas’s political bureau," the statement said.

Earlier, Ismail Haniyeh, who is living in Doha, confirmed the death of his sons.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and about 240 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, and then proceeded to carry out a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.