Ismail Haniyeh, chief political leader of Hamas, addressed the killing of his sister and her children in an “Israeli” bombing on Gaza on Tuesday.

 

"In this moment, I can only announce the martyrdom of this new group of family members, including my elder sister and her family," Haniyeh stated.

 

Haniyeh emphasized that if the Israeli Occupation believed targeting his relatives and family would change the resistance's positions, it is mistaken.

 

"We will not make peace, we will not change, we will not alter, we will not weaken, and we will not despair. Rather, we will continue our path with determination," he stated.

 

"I repeat once, twice, and thrice that the martyrs of my family are the martyrs of our people, and the martyrs of our people are also my family,” he continued. “There is no difference between the martyrs; all of them were chosen by [God] to pave our way towards victory and freedom."

 

He highlighted that Hamas has shown all possible flexibility and agreed without hesitation to all proposed ceasefire deals, provided that they resulted in stopping the crimes, ending the aggression, and the complete “Israeli” withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

 

He pointed out that “Israel” chose escalation, invaded Rafah, closed the crossings, and caused humanitarian disasters and severe famine throughout the Strip.

 

Haniyeh stressed that the international community must act to stop the aggression, allow aid, and provide the necessities of life for the Palestinian people.

 

He continued, "All ideas about the day after and internal arrangements must be purely Palestinian, and no one has the right to interfere, not the occupation or anyone else."

 

He concluded, "We still hold that any agreement that does not guarantee a ceasefire and an end to the aggression is a rejected agreement, and our position on this will not change at any stage.