Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas chief killed in an Israeli airstrike had 13 children, but 3 of them died in an Israeli offensive
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran early on Wednesday, the Palestinian militant group said, drawing fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.
Ismael Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hama, was killed in Tehran (Photo by AFP)(AFP)
Hamas mourned their leader saying, “To our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: Brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh.”
They added that the Hamas chief was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran, after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.
Ismail Haniyeh was born to Palestinian Muslims in the Al-Shati refugee camp of the Egyptian occupied strip of Gaza. His family originally hailed from Ashkelon, before the 1948 Nakba, when thousands of Palestinians were forced to migrate by settlers.
With his wife Amal, he had 13 children, though tragedy struck their family after October 2023.
Haniyeh over the years had lost several of his family members to Israeli airstrikes In an Israeli strike on Gaza city in 2023, he lost 14 members of his family, including his brother.
Soon after, he lost his grandson and then his eldest grand-daughter as well.
Haniyeh also suffered the lost of three of his sons – Hazem, Amir and Mohammad – on April 10, 2024, when an Israeli airstrike hit their car. In the same attack, he lost four grandchildren too.
His wife, who was undergoing treatment at the time in Doha, found out only three days later about their deaths.
On June 25, 2024, he lost ten more family members, including his 80 year old sister, in the place where they began their life, Al Shati refugee camp.
An investigation into Ismael Haniyeh’s death is being conducted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Hamas chief’s loss could lead to retaliation against Israel, particularly because Haniyeh was in charge of ceasefire talks.
