In yet another dangerous escalation, Israel’s military announced on Thursday the beginning of a “limited operation” in the northern part of the Nusseirat camp.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Israel’s killing of his children and grandchildren in Gaza would not force the group to change its demands for a complete ceasefire during the ongoing indirect talks, he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Israel killed Haniyeh’s three sons — Hazem, Amir and Mohammed — while they were visiting relatives for Eid at Gaza’s Shati refugee camp. 

The occupation forces also killed four of his grandchildren — Mona, Amal, Khaled and Razan.

Haniyeh said Israel has killed around 60 of his family members.

Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, received the news over the phone while visiting wounded Palestinians from Gaza receiving treatment at a hospital in Doha. 

The Israeli military confirmed the attack while describing Haniyeh’s three sons as “military operatives” in Hamas’ armed wing, without admitting the killing of his grandchildren.

While the attack took place at a critical time amid ongoing ceasefire talks in Cairo, Haniyeh stressed that Hamas will not withdraw its demands for a comprehensive ceasefire and the unconditional return of displaced Palestinians. 

“If they think that targeting my children at the peak of these talks before the movement’s [Hamas’s] response is submitted will cause Hamas to change its positions, they are delusional,” Haniyeh said.

“The blood of my children is not more valuable than the blood of the children of the Palestinian people[…]All the martyrs of Palestine are my children,” he added.

Haniyeh noted that Israel “is driven by the spirit of revenge and the spirit of murder and bloodshed, and it does not observe any standards or laws.”

“We’ve seen it violate everything on the land of Gaza. There is a war of ethnic cleansing and genocide. There is mass displacement,” he told the Qatar-based broadcaster.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has persisted in its genocidal war on Gaza, killing at least 33,482 people while injuring 76,049 others.

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have continued their efforts to reach a breakthrough following the months-long stalemate in the negotiations. 

On Tuesday, the mediators presented a new three-phased proposed truce deal involving the withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza and ensuring the safe return of internally displaced civilians.

Hamas said it was considering the deal while noting that “the Israeli position is still intransigent and failed to respond to any of the demands” it presented. The group was referring to its demands for a complete ceasefire and the unconditional return of displaced people.

“Despite this, the movement’s leadership is studying the presented proposal with national responsibility, and will inform the mediators with its response once it is ready,” Hamas said on Monday.

On Wednesday, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, noted that Israel’s killing of Haniyeh’s family members proved Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to “undermine” the talks.

“Netanyahu has failed in the last few weeks to spoil the negotiations and he is under pressure from the Americans, the international community, and internal Israeli society,” Naim told Al Jazeera.

“[Netanyahu] is now using all the dirty tools — by killing our children, our wives, and by assassinating leaders or some people in Damascus[…]He is insisting on undermining any chance to reach a ceasefire agreement,” he added.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu announced on Monday that he set the date for the invasion of densely-populated Rafah following months of threats to expand to the city in southern Gaza.

The invasion of Rafah, where more than one million displaced people have been sheltering, has been an area for concern globally, including the mediators in the ceasefire talks.

Israel already expanded its military operations to southern Gaza late last year, particularly in Khan Younis. This week, Israel withdrew its forces from Khan Younis after reducing it to rubble while leaving a number of bodies of Palestinians it killed.

Israel decided to leave the Nahal Brigade instead, which oversees the so-called Netzarim Corridor. The corridor enables the occupation forces to carry out deadly raids in northern and central Gaza while preventing Palestinians’ return to the north.

In yet another dangerous escalation, Israel’s military announced on Thursday the beginning of a “limited operation” in the northern part of the Nusseirat camp. The Israeli army is claiming that it received intelligence pointing to “the presence of terror infrastructure and many terrorists in the area.”

Israel has echoed such claims throughout the war to justify its killing of civilians in Gaza and its deadly raids on hospitals, including the Al-Shifa Medical Complex that was completely destroyed earlier this month.