GAZA CITY, Palestine: A Gaza hospital and Hamas said on Thursday that the son of Hamas’s chief negotiator had died from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike a day earlier in Gaza City.
Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, 23, died after being wounded in an air strike in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City on Wednesday evening, according to Al-Shifa Hospital.
“He was martyred after succumbing to wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike targeting him yesterday,” Al-Shifa Hospital said in a statement.
A second hospital, Al-Ahli Hospital, and a security source said the strike had killed one person and wounded 10 others, including al-Hayya.
Hamas confirms death
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the death in a post on the social media platform X.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
In a video statement released on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “eliminating enemy cells” in Gaza.
Hamas said the killing formed part of the pressure on its leadership during negotiations.
The Palestinian group said the attack came “within the framework of attempts to exert pressure on the resistance leadership and its negotiating delegation”, according to a statement.
Hamas said such actions would not alter its positions in talks with Israel.
A Hamas source, cited by AFP, said Azzam al-Hayya was the fourth son of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya to be killed in Israeli attacks.
Two of his sons were killed before the Gaza war began in October 2023, while another son was killed in an Israeli strike in Doha in September last year, which Hamas said targeted its leadership.
Khalil al-Hayya is a senior figure in Hamas and a key negotiator in indirect talks with Israel.
Israeli strikes in Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across Gaza on Wednesday killed multiple people, according to Palestinian medical officials.
Four people were killed in other raids on the same day, including a senior officer in Gaza’s police force, medics said.
Hamas said the attacks represented a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement and described them as part of an ongoing military campaign against Palestinians in the enclave.
The Gaza war began in October 2023 following a Hamas attack on Israel.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, more than 840 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire took effect in October last year, figures the United Nations considers reliable.
Much of Gaza remains in ruins, with humanitarian conditions described by the United Nations as severe and worsening.
