CAIRO, Apr. 11 (Sputnik) - An Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip killed three sons and several grandchildren of Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of the political office of Hamas, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of the political office of Hamas, said that the death of his sons will not affect the movement’s demands for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"The deaths of my sons will not affect the movement's demands for a ceasefire," Haniyeh said, as quoted by Sky News Arabia.

In November 2023, media reported about the death of Haniyeh’s granddaughter.

On March 22, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was still determined to enter Rafah as there was no other way to defeat the remaining Hamas forces, adding that he would do that with or without US support.

Many countries and international organizations, including the United States and the United Nations, are opposed to Israel's plans to proceed with the operation in Rafah.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 33,000 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.

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