Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran, according to a statement released by Hamas, the governing authority of Gaza, which has attributed his death to Israel.
Haniyeh, along with one of his bodyguards, was killed when the building they were staying in was struck. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday. “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,” the Hamas statement said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed Haniyeh’s death, stating, “Early this morning, the residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and one of his bodyguards’ martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon.”
Israel has not officially commented on Haniyeh’s death, but Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office instructed cabinet ministers to refrain from commenting. However, far-right Heritage Minister Amihai Elihayu celebrated the assassination on the social media platform X, stating, “The killing makes the world a little better.”
This assassination comes in the wake of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which began after a Hamas-led attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of over 200 others. In retaliation, Israel has launched extensive military operations in Gaza, leading to the deaths of at least 39,400 Palestinians and injuring 90,996 others.
Haniyeh, who left the Gaza Strip in 2019, had been residing in Qatar. The current top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in Gaza, highlighted Haniyeh’s significance, noting his role in negotiation efforts that aimed for a ceasefire. Mahmoud described Haniyeh as a moderate leader, popular among Palestinians for his pragmatic approach compared to other military leaders within Hamas. He added that Haniyeh’s assassination could further escalate the conflict.
This incident adds to the already high tensions following Israel’s targeted killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut on Tuesday. Sami al-Arian, the director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, remarked on Al Jazeera, “This is a huge escalation – what happened yesterday in Lebanon, what’s happening today in Tehran. It’s an escalation by [Israel] and that’s going to have significant ramifications.”
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