With Hamas and Israel continuing strikes as a ceasefire remains only partially implemented, Hamas said Thursday that the son of its lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, died following injuries from an Israeli strike in Gaza. Hamas said Azzam al-Hayya, 32, was wounded by a strike in Gaza City on Wednesday that also killed another person and wounded several others, and it said the younger al-Hayya later died, according to the group.
The Israeli military did not comment on the Wednesday strike. Hamas said Khalil al-Hayya, the older negotiator, is based abroad, and it described the death of his son as part of an expanding pattern of wartime losses tied to the negotiation process.
Hamas linked the deaths to its broader argument that Israel is seeking leverage by targeting negotiators and their families. The group said Israel was trying to pressure negotiators through targeted killings, and Hamas said it was not clear whether the younger al-Hayya was the target. In comments to Al Jazeera after his son was wounded, Khalil al-Hayya said that if his son was targeted, “it would be an honor to me, to him, and to all Palestinians,” according to the report.
As ceasefire talks continued, the negotiator also tied any further steps to what Hamas says is missing from the first phase. In the same comments to Al Jazeera, he said Hamas would be ready to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreement only after Israel fulfills the first phase, which Hamas said includes a cessation of hostilities and a surge in humanitarian aid.
On Thursday, the violence in Gaza included more attacks on what the sides described as Hamas security roles. Hamas said three Hamas-affiliated security forces were killed at a guard post, and Shifa Hospital said a fourth security officer was critically wounded. The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas command center.
Israel and Hamas have continued to trade accusations of violations even though a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted major military operations in October. That agreement also led to the release of remaining hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, but the report said key stipulations remain unmet, including Hamas disarmament, the deployment of an international stabilization force, and Israel’s withdrawal from the half of the territory its troops still control.
The human toll in Gaza continued as relatives mourned people killed in earlier strikes. A family that lost three people in a Wednesday Israeli strike gathered at Shifa Hospital on Thursday for final goodbyes, embracing as they wept, according to the report. A relative, Yahiya Kishko, said the family had just moved out of a school where they were sheltering and were setting up new tents when they were struck.
In Lebanon, Israel also reported a strike outside Gaza tied to the wider conflict. The Israeli military said it killed Ahmed Balout, described as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, along with two other militants, and Hezbollah had no immediate comment. The report said the strike took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area with a large Hezbollah presence that also houses civilians.
The Israeli military said its Wednesday strike was the first on the southern suburbs of Beirut since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was announced on April 17, while fighting continued in southern Lebanon. Israel said it has killed more than 85 Hezbollah militants and struck 180 sites used by the group in the last week, without providing evidence, according to the report.