Three sons of Hamas leader Haniyeh killed in Israeli airstrike

Three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday, the group and Haniyeh's family said.

The three sons - Hazem, Amir and Mohammad - were killed after the car they were driving in was bombed in Gaza's Al-Shati camp, Hamas said. Two of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the attack and a third was wounded, Hamas media said.

Speaking to a TV channel, Haniyeh said that "the enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position."

Haniyeh has been the tough-talking face of Hamas' international diplomacy as war with Israel has raged back in the Gaza Strip, where his family home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike back in November.

Israel has accused Haniyeh and other leaders of continuing to "pull the strings of the Hamas organisation".

How much Haniyeh knew about the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel, though, is not clear. The plan, drawn up by the Hamas military council in Gaza, was such a closely guarded secret that some Hamas officials abroad seemed shocked by its timing and scale.