Son of Hamas’s chief negotiator killed in Israeli strike, says terror group official

By Reuters 7 May 2026, 11:55 am

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Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya is seen outside the VIP hall at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on March 15, 2021. (Said Khatib/AFP)

An Israeli airstrike has killed the son of Hamas’s chief negotiator in US-mediated talks over Gaza’s future, according to a senior Hamas official.

Azzam Al-Hayya, son of Khalil Al-Hayya, succumbed to his injuries after being struck in an Israeli attack last night, says senior Hamas official Basim Naim. He is the fourth son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief to have been killed in Israeli attacks.

The IDF has not responded to a request for comment.

Hayya, who has seven children, has survived multiple Israeli attempts to kill him. An Israeli strike in Doha last year targeting Hamas leadership killed one of his sons, though Hayya survived. Two other sons were killed in past Israeli attempts on his life, in Gaza strikes in 2008 and 2014.