Israeli attack kills son of Hamas leader negotiating with Trump-led board
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli Airstrike and Ongoing Gaza Negotiations
CAIRO/GAZA, May 7 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike has killed the son of Hamas' chief negotiator in U.S.-mediated talks over Gaza's future, a senior Hamas official said on Thursday, as leaders of the militant group held talks in Cairo aimed at safeguarding their truce with Israel.
Details of the Airstrike
Azzam Al-Hayya, son of Khalil Al-Hayya, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday after being struck in an Israeli attack on Wednesday night, health and Hamas officials said. He was the fourth son of Hamas' exiled Gaza chief to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
Subsequent Strikes and Casualties
Later on Thursday, health officials and the Hamas-run interior ministry said at least three police officers were killed, and other people, including one policeman, were wounded when an Israeli airstrike targeted a police post in western Gaza City.
The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas command centre in the northern Gaza Strip, killing several militants who were inside it. The military added that militants were operating to "advance and carry out terror attacks" against Israeli forces and civilians.
Reuters has reported that Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police force, which the militant group has used to reinforce its hold in the areas it controls in the strip.
History of Strikes Against Hayya's Family
Past Israeli Strikes Have Killed Three More of His Sons
Hayya, who has seven children, has survived multiple Israeli attempts to kill him. An Israeli strike in Doha last year targeting Hamas leadership killed another son, though Hayya survived. Two other sons were killed in past Israeli attempts on his life, in Gaza strikes in 2008 and 2014.
Reactions from Hamas Leadership
Speaking to Al Jazeera after the attack on Wednesday night, before his son's death was announced, Hayya accused Israel of trying to undermine mediators' efforts to push ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, overseen by his so-called "Board of Peace".
"These Zionist attacks and violations clearly indicate that the occupation does not want to abide by a ceasefire or by the first phase," Hayya said.
Funeral and Family Response
Chanting "Allahu akbar", or "God is Greatest", dozens of Palestinians rallied in Gaza at the funeral of Hayya, the son, and held special prayers before walking him to burial. Women relatives paid respects to the white-shrouded body.
"Your martyrdom, my beloved brother, you and my brother Hammam, and Osama and Hamza, will not deter my father, Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya, from this principle, nor from these constants," the victim's sister said inside the morgue.
Hamas Statement on the Attack
The group's Gaza spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, said the killing of the Hamas leader's son was a failed attempt by Israel to influence the negotiating team and win political concessions.
"We say that this repeated policy of targeting the leaders and the sons of leaders will not succeed in extorting a political position from our Palestinian people, nor the Hamas leadership, nor its negotiating delegation," Qassem told Reuters.
Negotiations and Sticking Points
Hamas Disarmament a Sticking Point in Talks
The violence comes as leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian factions held talks with regional mediators and the Board of Peace’s lead envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, this week in Cairo, to push Trump's Gaza plan into its second phase, officials said.
Trump's Gaza plan, which Israel and Hamas agreed to in October, involves Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza and reconstruction starting as Hamas lays down its weapons.
But Hamas' disarmament is a sticking point in talks to implement the plan and cement an October ceasefire that halted two years of full-blown war.
Conditions for Further Negotiations
A Hamas official told Reuters on Wednesday the group told Mladenov it would not engage in serious talks over the implementation of the second phase before Israel concluded obligations stemming from the first phase of the Gaza deal, including a complete halt to attacks.
Casualties Since Ceasefire
At least 830 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire deal took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers over the same period.
Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting attempts by Hamas and other Palestinian militants to stage attacks against its forces.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Dawoud Abu Alkas in Gaza; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Alex Richardson and Andrew Heavens)
