Israeli Strike Kills Hamas Leader's Sons

An Israeli strike killed three of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's sons in Gaza, the Palestinian leader and Israel's military said, as war rages in the Palestinian territory despite ongoing truce negotiations.

Hamas said in a statement that three of Haniyeh's sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in the air strike.

Israel confirmed the killings, saying the sons were "Hamas operatives" who were "on their way to carry out terrorist activities".

The strike came as talks in Cairo aimed at a ceasefire and a hostage release deal dragged on without signs of a breakthrough.

Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, suggested the strike was an attempt to shift Hamas's negotiating stance, but insisted it would not work.

Reacting to the strike that killed his sons and grandchildren, Haniyeh said, "if Israel thinks that targeting my children at the peak of these talks and before the movement's response, if they think that this will force Hamas to change its positions, they are delusional".

The war broke out with Hamas's October 7 attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also took about 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,482 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

More than 1.5 million civilians are sheltering from the war in Rafah, the last Gazan city yet to face an Israeli ground invasion.

Regional tensions have surged amid the conflict.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel that it "must be punished and will be punished" for a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week that Tehran has blamed on Israel.