Live Update
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Israeli strike on Haniyeh’s family contributed to hostage talk deadlock — official
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Onlookers look at the remains of the car in which three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City on April 10, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
WASHINGTON — An Israeli strike last week that killed three of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s children and four of his grandchildren contributed to the ongoing deadlock in hostage negotiations between the terror group and Israel, a senior Arab official tells The Times of Israel.
The strike came at a critical point in the negotiations before Hamas was slated to provide its response to the latest proposal crafted by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, the senior Arab official says, noting that the terror group went on to subsequently harden its demands.