HAMAS SAYS ITS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH WAS ASSASSINATED IN TEHRAN

Wed 31 July 2024:

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Tehran, the Palestinian militant group Hamas has said.

In a statement, the Islamist faction mourned the death of Haniyeh, who it said was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said he had been targeted in his residence along with an Iranian bodyguard. It said he had been in Iran to attend the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. It said it was investigating the circumstances of the “incident”.

“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.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced Haniyeh’s death.

“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,” the IRGC said in a statement.

It gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed and the IRGC said the attack was under investigation.

Israel remained silent on Haniyeh’s death, with media there reporting that the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered cabinet ministers not to comment. Far-right Heritage Minister Amihai Elihayu, however, celebrated Hamas leader’s death on social media platform X.

The killing “makes the world a little better,” he wrote in Hebrew.

Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip in 2019 and lived in Qatar. The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar.

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Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, who is in Deir el-Balah in Gaza, said the killing was “significant” for the people of Gaza because he was the leader of negotiations that they hoped would lead to a ceasefire.

“Palestinians across Gaza and the West Bank also view Ismail Haniyeh as a moderate leader who is much more pragmatic compared to other leaders who head the military side of the movement,” Mahmoud said.

“He is very popular here. He grew up in a refugee camp. He represents the vast majority of the people who are the descendants of the refugee families who were displaced from the Palestinian territories in 1948.”

Many worry Haniyeh’s killing could now lead to a further escalation of the conflict, he added.

Israel has ‘no intention of achieving peace’, Turkey says

Turkey has condemned Haniyeh’s assassination and said the attack aimed to spread the war in Gaza on a regional level, Reuters reports, citing a statement from the foreign ministry. Apparently blaming Israel for the attack, the statement also said:

It has been revealed once again that the government of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has no intention of achieving peace.

Tensions were already high after Israel said it targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in a “precision strike” on Beirut on Tuesday.

US defense secretary Lloyd Austin has held a press conference in the Philippines. He has so far said the US would defend Israel if it was attacked and that he did not think a a wider war in the Middle East was inevitable. He did not make any direct reference to Haniyeh’s killing.

Israeli military ‘conducting situation assessment’, military says

The Israeli military’s spokesperson Daniel Hagari has posted an update on his X account, saying there are “no changes in the home defence policy”. He says further:

At this time, the IDF is conducting a situation assessment. If any changes are decided, we will update the public immediately on the platforms of the IDF and the Home Front Command. You must stay informed and act according to the instructions of the Home Front Command.

אין שינויים במדיניות ההתגוננות בעורף. בשעה זו צה”ל מקיים הערכת מצב. במידה ויוחלט על שינוי כלשהו, נעדכן את הציבור באופן מיידי בפלטפורמות של צה״ל ופיקוד העורף. יש להישאר מעודכנים ולפעול על פי הנחיות פיקוד העורף

— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) July 31, 2024