Palestinian Sources: Ismail Haniyeh's Sister Killed in Latest Israeli Attack on Gaza

Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip report that in an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza early Tuesday, July 5, a large number of individuals were killed, including Zahra Haniyeh, sister of Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas's political bureau, along with nine other relatives. Reuters reported, citing Palestinian medical officials, that Israeli forces killed at least 24 Palestinians in three separate airstrikes on the city of Gaza. According to doctors, two of these attacks targeted two schools in the city, resulting in at least 14 deaths. Another strike hit a house in the Shati refugee camp, one of the eight old refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, killing another 10 people. Mahmoud Bazal, spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense, told AFP that Zahra Haniyeh was killed in this attack and that several other bodies are likely still under the rubble. He added, 'We do not have the necessary equipment to retrieve the bodies, and several people have also been injured in this attack.' The Israeli army stated that two buildings in the Shati refugee camp and in the al-Daraj neighborhood, where militants were hiding, were targeted in the attack on Monday night, but did not confirm further details about this strike. According to German news agency reports, the Israeli army claims that among those targeted were individuals involved in the massacre and hostage-taking on October 7 last year in southern Israel. This attack was carried out by the extremist group Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. Netanyahu stated that the intense battle against Hamas in Rafah is nearly over. The Israeli army indicated that the attack on the Shati camp, located west of Gaza City, was conducted because militants were 'operating within school premises that Hamas was using as a shield for its terrorist activities.' In a statement released on social media, the Israeli army made no mention of Haniyeh's sister. The army stated that in this attack, 'aerial surveillance measures, precision-guided munitions, and intelligence resources were used to minimize harm to civilians.' Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who is currently in Qatar, lost three sons and four grandchildren in an Israeli attack in April in central Gaza. At that time, Haniyeh stated that about 60 family members had been killed since the start of the new Gaza war. The Gaza war, which began following a large-scale attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7 last year, resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 Israelis, with over 250 others taken hostage and brought to Gaza. The Israeli army claims that 116 individuals, including the bodies of 41 Israeli hostages who were killed, are still in Gaza. According to statistics from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, extensive Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have so far resulted in the deaths of over 37,000, mostly civilians.