Israeli forces announce new operation against Hamas
JERUSALEM >> The Israeli military announced what it called a precise operation to kill members of Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a day after a strike there killed relatives of one of the group's most senior leaders.
Ismail Haniyeh, who leads the political wing of Hamas from exile, said three of his sons had been killed in the Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza on Wednesday. Hamas-affiliated media reported that three of Haniyeh's grandchildren also were killed in the attack.
On Thursday, Israel's military said its forces had carried out a “precise, intelligence-based operation” in central Gaza overnight with fighter jets and ground troops to “eliminate terrorist operatives and strike terrorist infrastructure.”
It was not immediately clear whether the operation was related to the strike a day earlier against Haniyeh's sons, who the Israeli military said had been “on their way to carry out terrorist activities in central Gaza.” It did not provide further details, and the military's claims could not be verified.
The Israeli military said the three Haniyeh sons it killed — Amir, Mohammad and Hazem — were active in Hamas' military operations, Amir as a cell commander and his brothers as lower-level operatives. One of the brothers was also involved in holding hostages, the Israeli military said, without specifying which one.
The strike came as international negotiators worked to broker a cease-fire in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages held in the enclave. Those talks have stalled over disagreements about the details, with a senior Hamas official saying Wednesday that the group did not have 40 living hostages who met the criteria for an exchange under the proposal being discussed.
While Haniyeh is one of Hamas' most senior officials, analysts said his sons were less integral to the operation — and that their killings appeared mainly aimed at sending a message to the group's leadership amid cease-fire negotiations.
“His son's names are not usually floated around when you talk about seniority in Hamas, whether it's the political or military wing,” said Tahani Mustafa, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, a think tank.
Mustafa said the timing of the strike made it seem like an effort to derail the talks.
But Bilal Saab, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, said the strike may have been intended to placate a domestic audience after six months of war, or to give Israel leverage in the talks.