Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Leader, Killed in Alleged Israeli Attack in Tehran

“The brother leader, martyr combatant Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the movement, died as a result of a treacherous Zionist attack at his residence in Tehran, after attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president”, stated the Hamas movement in a communiqué in the last hours.

The first announcement of Ismail Haniyeh’s death came from the Revolutionary Guards. In a statement, this Iranian force indicated that the Hamas leader and a bodyguard died in an attack on Ismail Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran.
Tel Aviv has not confirmed the attack in Tehran or Haniyeh’s death for now.

“Ismail Haniyeh’s residence, head of the political bureau of the Islamic resistance of Hamas, was attacked in Tehran and, due to this incident, he and a bodyguard died”, the note from the Revolutionary Guards, published on the Sepah portal, indicates.

It is worth noting that the Israeli government had promised to eliminate the Hamas leadership following the offensive launched by the movement on October 7.

The news of Ismail Haniyeh’s death comes after the Hebrew state confirmed that its forces killed the military chief of Hezbollah Fuad Shukr, one of the closest elements to the leader of the Lebanese Shia movement, Hassan Nasrallah.

Gonçalo Costa Martins – Antena 1

“It will not go unpunished”

The Palestinian Islamist group has warned that this death “will not go unpunished”. The Palestinian Authority and countries such as Iran, Turkey, and Russia have already joined the chorus of voices condemning the death of the Hamas leader.

From the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “vehemently condemned the assassination of the Hamas leader and considered it a cowardly act and a dangerous event”, reported the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. Abbas also “called on the masses and the forces of the Palestinian people for unity, patience, and steadfastness in the face of Israeli occupation”.

The Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein al-Sheikh, described “the assassination” of Haniyeh as “a cowardly act”.

“It forces us to remain more steadfast in the face of occupation,” he emphasized on social media.

In response, Iran stated that the death of Haniyeh will serve to strengthen the ties between the country and the Palestinian people.“The martyrdom of brother Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran
will reinforce the deep and unbreakable ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and beloved Palestine and the Resistance,” said the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kan’ani, quoted by the official news agency Mehr.

Kan’ani also expressed “condolences for the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh” and stressed that the blood of the murdered Hamas leader “will never be wasted”.

The Iranian president himself, Massoud Pezeshkian, has since accused Israel of murdering Ismail Haniyeh and promised to make the country “regret” this “cowardly” action.

Along the same lines, the ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian supreme leader, threatened to “punish” Israel.

Other countries reacted to the death of the Hamas chief, with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, denouncing an “unacceptable political assassination”.

Turkey condemned the “despicable assassination” of Haniyeh, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Once again, it has been demonstrated that Netanyahu’s government has no intention of achieving peace”, wrote the office of Turkey’s chief diplomat, Hakan Fidan.

China also condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.The Lebanese Shia Hezbollah claims that Haniyeh’s death will strengthen the “determination” of those fighting Israel.

“We are very concerned about this incident. We vigorously oppose and condemn this assassination”, reacted a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Lin Jian.

For its part, Qatar, one of the mediators between Hamas and Israel, denounced a “heinous crime” and warned of a “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.

“Qatar hosts the political leadership of Hamas, including Haniyeh, which mediates negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip. We believe that this assassination could plunge the region into chaos and compromise the chances for peace,” read a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Son of Haniyeh assures that resistance will not end
Abdul Salam, son of the murdered Hamas leader, assured that the resistance of the Islamist movement will not end with the “assassination of its leaders”.

“My father survived four assassination attempts during his patriotic journey, and today Allah granted him the martyrdom he always desired,” he said.The Houthi rebels from Yemen, supported by Iran, have stated their determination to support Hamas.

According to Salam, the Hamas leader “was very interested in establishing national unity and worked for the unity of all Palestinian factions” and “this assassination will not stop the resistance, which will fight until freedom is achieved”.

“We are in a revolution and a continuous battle against the enemy, and the resistance does not end with the assassination of its leaders,” Salam stated, quoted by the Iranian news agency Mehr.

“Haniyeh was in one of the special residences for war veterans in northern Tehran when he was killed by an aerial projectile,” reported the local news agency Fars, a piece of information echoed by other media.

The Mehr agency also added that “the reasons behind this attack are being investigated and details will be disclosed” when known.

c/ agencies