Israeli occupation forces have martyred Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, the son of senior Hamas political bureau official and key Palestinian negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.

Azzam succumbed to his injuries on Thursday after succumbing to wounds sustained in a deliberate Israeli Zionist airstrike on Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood late Wednesday night.

According to medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital, who spoke to Al Jazeera, Azzam was critically injured in the strike and later joined the long list of Palestinian martyrs resisting the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. The attack, which also claimed other Palestinian lives and wounded numerous civilians, highlights the occupation’s relentless campaign of targeted assassinations and collective punishment against the Palestinian people.

Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent figure in Hamas and the group’s lead negotiator in indirect talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and ending the suffering of Gaza’s population, has already endured immense personal loss. This marks the fourth son taken from him by Israeli strikes, a testament to the occupation’s vindictive policy of punishing Palestinian leaders and their families for their steadfast commitment to resistance and liberation.

Hamas officials condemned the strike as a desperate and morally bankrupt attempt to break the will of the Palestinian resistance. Taher al-Nono, a Hamas aide, described the targeting as "a peak of moral and ethical degradation," underscoring how the Israeli regime continues to violate all norms of humanity in its aggression.

This latest atrocity occurs amid Israel’s broader campaign of destruction across the Gaza Strip, where thousands of civilians—including women, children, and entire families—have been martyred in relentless bombing campaigns. Far from weakening the Palestinian resolve, such crimes only strengthen the determination of the resistance to continue the struggle for freedom, dignity, and the right of return.

The Palestinian people and their leadership remain defiant. As Gaza buries yet another martyr, the international community is called upon to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its war crimes and to support the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians for justice and self-determination. (ILKHA)