Hamas leader Haniyeh thankful for the ‘honor of martyrdom’ granted to his sons

Following the killing of three of his sons in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza today, Hamas’s Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh says that he “thanks God for bestowing upon us the honor of their martyrdom.”

In a phone interview broadcast on Al Jazeera, the terror leader vows that the group will not surrender and that such actions will not make it change its goals and demands.

“Their pure blood is for the liberation of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa, and we will continue to march on our road, and will not hesitate and will not falter,” Haniyeh says. “With their blood, we bring about hopes, a future and freedom for our people and our cause.”

Al Jazeera reports that the three men were struck by a drone-launched missile as they were traveling in a car on their way to celebrate with relatives and acquaintances on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which begins today.

Haniyeh adds that nearly 60 members of his family have been “martyred” in the war, and that he has paid the same price as the rest of the Palestinian people.