Hamas confirmed on Thursday that the son of its leader and head negotiator was killed by an Israeli attack in Gaza as the IDF continues its daily violations of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal.
Azzam al-Hayya, the 32-year-old son of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, was wounded by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Wednesday and succumbed to his wounds the following day. Israel had previously tried to kill the older al-Hayya at least three times, and in those three attempts, he lost three other sons, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel’s latest attempt against Khalil al-Hayya was the September 2025 airstrike in Doha, Qatar, where he is based. The two other attempts occurred in Gaza in 2008 and 2014.
“I say to the occupation and to all who hear us, we are a people with a just cause. Neither the killing of our sons nor the martyrdom of our leaders will intimidate us,” al-Hayya said on Wednesday after the attack on his son, but before it was confirmed he was killed.
Taher al-Nono, a Hamas official and aide to al-Hayya, said that the killing “only makes the negotiator more steadfast in his positions, in defending his people’s rights, and in their free will.”
Al-Hayya has been engaged in negotiations with the so-called “Board of Peace,” the US-led body that was established by the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
According to The Times of Israel, the board recently told Hamas that it won’t hold Israel to the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire deal if the Palestinian group doesn’t agree to the US and Israeli demands to disarm. But the board has already not been holding Israel to those terms, as the IDF has been killing Palestinians every day and continues to impose restrictions on aid entering the Strip.
For its part, Hamas has said it won’t discuss disarmament until the first phase of the ceasefire deal is actually implemented. Hamas and other Palestinian factions also reportedly submitted a proposal linking disarmament to a pathway to a Palestinian state, but it was rejected by the US and Israel.
According to the latest numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry, since the so-called ceasefire deal was signed, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 846 Palestinians and wounded 2,418.
