Hamas Leader Says Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Killed Three of His Sons

The head of Hamas’s political leadership, Ismail Haniyeh, said an Israeli airstrike killed three of his sons on Wednesday, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, an attack that could complicate a U.S.-led plan for a cease-fire in the six-month-old conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on the statement.

Hamas said five people died in the strike, which the group said hit a car making social visits for Eid, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Haniyeh, in a separate statement, said some of his grandchildren also died.

The U.S. is pushing Israel and Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, to negotiate on the terms of a temporary cease-fire, but Hamas has largely rejected the U.S. plan, mediators said earlier Wednesday.

Hamas said instead it would put forward its own road map for a permanent end to the war with Israel.

The killing of Haniyeh’s children on a Muslim holiday could lead to greater diplomatic pressure on Israel.

But it is unclear whether the deaths will significantly change the dynamics of negotiations between Israel and Hamas because decision-making over the war has been more narrowly focused on the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and the group’s military wing.