Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of the Hamas Politburo, confirmed that three of his sons and four grandsons were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
Less than a month ago, the Haniyeh also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Kejian in Qatar to exchange views on the Gaza conflict and other issues.
Haniyeh, who became Hamas's supreme leader in 2017, has traveled extensively between Turkey and Doha, the capital of Qatar, to circumvent Israeli-imposed travel restrictions in Gaza and to enable him to represent in the latest ceasefire negotiations and maintain communication with Hamas's main ally, Iran.
The car in which Hania's sons were travelling was attacked near the Shati refugee camp near the city of Gaza. Haniyeh said that thanks to God for the honor of martyrdom, the incident will not shake his goals and demands in the negotiations of the ceasefire agreement.
Al Jazeera said three of Chania's sons, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, were travelling in a car to celebrate the 10th festival of Eid al-Fitr with friends and family, when the vehicle was hit by a missile fired by a drone, including his four grandsons, Mona, Amal, Khaled and Razan, were also killed in the attack.
In a statement, Haniyeh denounced the attack as "treacherous and cowardly attack", saying that if the enemy thinks that targeting my son will force Hamas to change its position when the ceasefire talks reach a high point, it is completely delusional.
Haniyeh said that hope, future and freedom would be brought through the blood of the martyrs and the suffering of the wounded, noting that nearly 60 family members had died in the war, including nieces and nephews, and that his loss was the same as that of other Palestinian people.
The Israeli army noted that it had eliminated three Hamas military personnel in the central Gaza Strip and said that they were the sons of Haniyeh, but the statement did not mention the death of Haniyeh's grandson.
