Gaza
Three sons and grandchildren of Hamas’s most extreme leader die. Is Israel engaging in psychological warfare with this attack?
Ismail Haniyeh (62), the leader of the political bureau of the terrorist group Hamas, has lost three sons and three grandchildren in an attack by the Israeli army. According to the Israeli army, the sons were active members of the military wing of Hamas and “on their way to carry out a terrorist attack.” According to Palestinian sources, the family was traveling by car to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month, in the Al Shati refugee camp. It is currently under the control of the Israeli army. Haniyeh himself has lived in Qatar for years. He was born in Al Shati.
Haniyeh himself confirmed that his sons were killed. “All Gazans have already made such sacrifices. The blood of my sons is not dearer to me than that of my people,” he told Al Jazeera.
The attack comes at a sensitive time. Haniyeh has received a ceasefire proposal from Israel. The pressure to accept that is great. But Haniyeh doesn’t seem willing to do that. On Tuesday he said that the Israeli proposal “in no way” meets Palestinian demands. He reiterated that position to Al Jazeera on Wednesday. “If our enemies thought they could manipulate our movement by hitting my sons, they would be far gone.”
Dichotomous
According to The Jerusalem Post, a conflict between two leaders of Hamas is taking place in the background. On the one hand there is Haniyeh, who is considered a hardliner, but is far from the war zone. He heads the political bureau and shuttles back and forth across the Muslim world to do diplomacy. He has already traveled to Iran and Turkey. On the other hand, there is the local leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. According to some sources, Sinwar would be more inclined to accept Israeli conditions. Contact between Sinwar and Haniyeh would not go smoothly, for ideological and logistical reasons.
Sinwar is also being targeted by the Israeli army, including propaganda videos. “If the Israeli army distributes videos of Sinwar fleeing through the tunnels, they want to show Gazans that their leaders are cowardly,” The Jerusalem Post wrote at the end of February. “That’s psychological warfare.”
Hamas’s official position is still said to be the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza. Palestinian refugees must also be able to return to the area.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condoled with Haniyeh for his loss. The question is whether this attack will affect the negotiations.
The war in Gaza is entering its seventh month. According to independent studies by the American Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, at least 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.
