A son of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of his sons killed in Israeli attacks to four.
Azzam Khalil al-Hayya died of his serious injuries at Al-Ahli Hospital, the hospital said on Thursday.
He was reportedly hit during a drone strike on Wednesday in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to hospital reports, another member of the Palestinian militant group was also killed in the attack. An Israeli army spokesman said the reports were being investigated.
Khalil al-Hayya is the highest-ranking Hamas official abroad and a negotiator in talks on a lasting peace settlement for the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Hasem Kassem told dpa that this was the fourth of al-Hayya’s sons to have been killed in an Israeli attack.
Last year, the Israeli Air Force attempted to wipe out the Hamas leadership in the Qatari capital, Doha, with Khalil al-Hayya reportedly a target.
However, Hamas said at the time that the assassination attempt failed and no member of the delegation was killed.
Six people were reported to have been killed, including al-Hayya’s son Humam, and his office manager. The attack was condemned internationally.
According to the Hamas spokesman, two of al-Hayya’s other sons were killed in earlier Israeli attacks on their father in the Gaza Strip in 2008 and 2014.
Although a ceasefire has been in place in the coastal strip since October 2025, deadly attacks and confrontations continue to occur.
The disarmament of the Palestinian group Hamas, as envisaged in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, has not yet been implemented.
Israel continues to control half of the Gaza Strip. Since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas has largely succeeded in re-establishing its rule in the area of Gaza that it continues to control.