Hamas’ Political Leader Has Been Assassinated While Visiting Iran
62-year-old Ismail Haniyeh had been leading the ceasefire negotiations with Israel.
The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Iran on Wednesday, July 31, in his residence in Tehran after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new president.
Haniyeh, a 62-year-old politician, left Gaza to live in Qatar in 2019, when he became the political leader of Hamas.
He had been leading the ceasefire negotiations with Israel, according to Reuters.
Haniyeh was killed by an explosive device that was planted in the guesthouse he was staying in about two months prior, according to the New York Times, which spoke to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official.
The officials said that the bomb was detonated remotely after Haniyeh was confirmed to be inside his room.
The explosion at the guesthouse, where Haniyeh had stayed several times before, also killed his bodyguard.
Israel has declined to comment on the incident, but Hamas and Iran said Israel was behind the killing, which US officials also believe, according to the New York Times report.
The US’ Secretary of State said it had received no prior knowledge of the assassination plan.
It had vowed earlier to eliminate Hamas and took responsibility for killing seniorHezbollah leader, Fouad Shukar, in Lebanon the day prior.
Israel has already killed several members of Haniyeh's family. On April 10, it killed three of Haniyeh's sons – Hazem, Amir, and Mohammad – along with some of his grandchildren in an airstrike in Gaza.
Iran and Hamas have both and vowed to retaliate.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns to our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, who was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” Hamas said in a statement.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said Haniyeh’s killing takes the war with Israel to a “new levels”, warning of “enormous consequences for the entire region”.
With Israel’s ongoing genocide on Gaza that has killed more than 40,039 Palestinian and its continuous attacks on Syria Lebanon and Yemen, analysts say Israel's claims of wanting peace do not appear sincere.
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