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Quoting senior Israeli officials, Walla news agency said neither
Netanyahu nor Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had been told in
advance of the strike, which was coordinated by the Israeli
military and the Shin Bet intelligence service.
It said Amir, Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh had been targeted as
fighters and not because they were the sons of Hamas's political
leader. The Israeli military did not comment on reports that
four of Haniyeh's grandchildren had also been killed.
No comment on the Walla report was immediately available from
the prime minister's office or the military.
The killing of Haniyeh's relatives has added a potential
complication to negotiations aimed at securing a halt in the
fighting in Gaza in exchange for the return of the 133 Israeli
hostages still believed to be held in the besieged enclave.
Haniyeh said Hamas had "clear and specific" demands for agreeing
to any pause in the fighting.
"The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my
sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement
sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position,"
Haniyeh said on Wednesday.
Global calls for a ceasefire have been growing as the war has
entered its seventh month but there has been little sign of
progress in the talks.
Hamas is demanding an end to the Israeli offensive, a withdrawal
of Israeli forces and permission for Gaza's displaced
Palestinians to return to their homes.
Israel wants to secure the return of the hostages but says it
will not end the war until Hamas is destroyed as a military
force, and that it is still planning to assault the southern
city of Rafah, where more than a million civilians have taken
refuge.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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