Hamas chief’s sister charged by Israel for praising October 7 attacks

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Jerusalem:

Israeli state prosecutors on Sunday indicted the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on charges of inciting and supporting the terror group after an alleged October 7 attack sparked six month war.

Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, 57, lives in the southern Israeli town of Tersheba. Her brother and other officials from Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, are based in Qatar.

Israel’s Justice Ministry said Haniyeh had been detained since his arrest on April 1. Her attorney had no immediate comment.

According to the indictment, in the days after Hamas launched an Oct. 7 killing spree in southern Israel, Haniya sent messages to dozens of contacts, including her brother, praising the cross-border attack and calling for Further “massacre”.

One of her messages cited in the indictment included the line: “Oh God, count them, kill them, don’t leave any, oh God.”

Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners in an attack on Oct. 7, sparking a war in which Gaza health authorities say more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed.

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