Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, was slain in Iran early on Wednesday, the Palestinian militant group announced. This development raises concerns about a further escalation in a region already unsettled by Israel’s war in Gaza and a deepening crisis in Lebanon.
Hours after Haniyeh attended the inauguration of the nation’s new president, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran declared that an investigation was underway. They also confirmed Haniyeh’s passing.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, reportedly declared on Wednesday that his country will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride.” He added that Iran will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act of killing Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, in Tehran.
Israel refrained from commenting right away. The Israeli military did not provide any new security directives for civilians, but it did state that it was performing a situational assessment. At noon (0900 GMT), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with security authorities for consultations.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that Washington would strive to reduce tensions. However, he also emphasized that the U.S. would support Israel’s defense if it comes under assault.
“I don’t think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunities for diplomacy,” he told reporters during a visit to the Philippines.
The announcement has hampered the prospects of an impending ceasefire in Gaza. This happened less than twenty-four hours after Israel declared it had killed the Hezbollah leader responsible for a fatal strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
“This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian organization in control of Gaza, would carry on along its current course, he declared. He added, “We are confident of victory.”
Haniyeh’s death was denounced as a hazardous escalation of the violence by Qatar, which has been mediating talks to stop the fighting in Gaza. Russia and China have also denounced the murder.
A person with knowledge of the matter reported that Iran’s top security committee convened. Consequently, they are determining Iran’s response to the killing of Haniyeh, a close ally of Tehran, in the Iranian capital.
Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and large-scale protests. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Haniyeh’s death.
HAMAS’S PUBLIC FACE
Haniyeh’s assassination occurs as Israel’s assault in Gaza enters its tenth month, and there is still no indication that it will finish. The fighting has rocked the Middle East and raised fears that it could turn into a larger regional confrontation.
Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire and outrage from the families of Israeli captives detained in Gaza, talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar have failed. Consequently, the situation remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, the attack in the Golan Heights on Saturday, which killed 12 children in a Druze village, has heightened tensions. Additionally, the subsequent assassination of top Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr has increased the likelihood of a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah claims Shukr was inside the building struck by an Israeli missile, though they have not officially confirmed his death.
Typically located in Qatar, Haniyeh has served as the spokesperson for the Palestinian organization’s foreign diplomacy. Meanwhile, the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, has raged. An Israeli airstrike murdered three of his boys.
The prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court filed a request for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Simultaneously, this request is based on charges of war crimes.
He was appointed to a senior position in Hamas in 2017. Since then, he has traveled between Turkey and Doha, the capital of Qatar, to avoid the travel restrictions imposed on the blockaded Gaza Strip. This has allowed him to engage in negotiations for a ceasefire or to speak with Hamas’s ally, Iran.
After Israel killed his deputy, Saleh Al-Arouri, earlier this year, Yehya Al-Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the mastermind behind the October 7 attack on Israel, remains in hiding. Additionally, Zaher Jabarin, the organization’s chief in the West Bank, also continues to hide while retaining his position.
In the future, Hamas might replace its current public face with the group’s previous leader, Khaled Meshaal. However, it remains unclear how the succession will be managed.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict began on October 7 when fighters led by Hamas breached security barriers surrounding Gaza. Consequently, they launched a catastrophic onslaught on nearby Israeli villages, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping approximately 250 hostages into Gaza.
More than 2 million people are facing a severe humanitarian crisis due to Israel’s relentless land and air offensive in the densely populated coastal enclave. Consequently, Gaza health officials report that over 39,400 Palestinians have been killed.
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