Hamas leader refutes reports that his deceased sons were in his movement
Ismail Haniyeh said that the deaths of his sons and grandchildren will not affect the talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, because "the interests of the Palestinian people are placed above everything"
CAIRO, April 12. /TASS/. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his sons, killed in a recent Israeli air strike, were not active members of his movement.
He denied to Reuters that his sons were Hamas fighters, adding that the deaths of his sons and grandchildren will not affect the talks on a ceasefire in Gaza, because "the interests of the Palestinian people are placed above everything."
Haniyeh also accused Israel of delaying the negotiation process.
On April 10, the Hamas leadership confirmed that Haniyeh’s three sons and four grandchildren were killed in an Israeli military strike on a refugee camp in northern Gaza. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement expressed their condolences.
The Israeli army press service also confirmed the killing of three sons of the Hamas politburo chief in Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh himself lives in Doha.