Three sons and four grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh have been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Haniyeh said in an interview with Al Jazeera that his sons Hazem, Amir and Mohammad were killed after their car was attacked while traveling in Gaza. His sons were visiting relatives at al-Shati refugee camp for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which commemorates the end of Ramadan.

This comes as the US and other international mediators have increased pressure on Israel to negotiate a new ceasefire agreement.

Haniyeh said that the attack would not change Hamas’ demand for a permanent ceasefire.

“Anyone who believes that targeting my sons will push Hamas to change its position is delusional,” he said.

“The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people.”

Israel have confirmed carrying out the attack and said that the sons were “three Hamas operatives” who were “on their way to carry out terrorist activities”.

Since the conflict began on 7 October, 33,482 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Gaza health ministry.

Photo by Joe Catron is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. The image has not been modified.