Tehran (Iran):Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital Wednesday, Iran and the Palestinian militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the conflict even as the U.S. and other nations were scrambling to prevent an all-out regional war.
Haniyeh was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”, Hamas said in a statement. Israel itself did not immediately comment, but it often doesn’t when it comes to assassinations carried out by their Mossad intelligence agency. Israel has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.
Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swear-in ceremony on Tuesday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Sepah news website said Haniyeh was killed in his Tehran residence along with one of his bodyguards.
“The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, was hit in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, him and one of his bodyguards were martyred,” it said.
Iran President Vows To Make Israel 'Regret' Haniyeh killing
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed Wednesday to make Israel "regret" the "cowardly" killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity, honour, pride and dignity, and make the terrorist invaders regret their cowardly action," said Pezeshkian in a post on X where he mourned Haniyeh as "a brave leader".
Afghan Taliban Say Killing Of Hamas Chief 'a great loss'
Afghanistan's Taliban government said Wednesday the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in neighbouring Iran was "a great loss", hailing him as "an intelligent and resourceful Palestinian leader".
"He was successful and left the lessons of resistance, sacrifice, patience, tolerance, struggle and practical sacrifice to his followers," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement shared on X.
Russia Slams 'Unacceptable Political Assassination'
Russia on Wednesday denounced the "unacceptable political assassination" of Ismail Haniyeh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov said. "It is a completely unacceptable political assassination, and this will lead to a further escalation of tensions," Bogdanov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Turkey Condemns Haniyeh’s death, Alleging Attack Aims To Escalate Regional Fighting
Turkey strongly condemned the “heinous assassination” of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, attributing the killing to the Israeli government. A Foreign Ministry statement said the killing had shown that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “has no intention of achieving peace.”
The ministry statement said the attack aimed to escalate the Gaza conflict to a regional scale and cautioned that larger conflicts could engulf the region if the international community does not intervene to halt Israel’s actions. Turkey is a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and often expresses support for Hamas. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has regularly hosted Haniyeh.
Palestinians Leaders Condemn Haniyeh's Assassination as 'Cowardly Act'
In the West Bank on Wednesday, the internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Haniyeh’s killing, calling it a “cowardly act and dangerous development.” Political factions in the occupied territory called for strikes in protest at the killing.
Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh in the West Bank also condemned Haniyeh’s assassination as a “cowardly act.”
“We strongly denounce and condemn the assassination of the head of the Political Bureau, the national leader, Ismail Haniyeh,” the Palestinian Authority’s civil affairs chief wrote on X. “We consider it a cowardly act, this pushes us to remain more steadfast in the face of the occupation, and the necessity of achieving the unity of the Palestinian forces and factions.”
Hamas senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk, meanwhile, said that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. He also called the assassination a cowardly act.
Yemen Rebels call Hamas Leader's Killing 'Terrorist Crime'
The killing of Hamas's political leader in an air strike in Tehran is a "heinous terrorist crime", Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said on Wednesday. "Targeting him is a heinous terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values," Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, a member of the Huthis' political bureau, posted on X.
The Yemeni rebels have been launching drones and missiles at shipping in the Red Sea since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war. Earlier this month, a deadly Huthi drone strike on Tel Aviv prompted Israeli air strikes on Hodeida, impoverished Yemen's lifeline port, that killed nine people and triggered a massive inferno.
Assassination Comes At Precarious Time For Biden
The apparent assassination comes at a precarious time, as the Biden administration has tried to push Hamas and Israel to agree to at least a temporary cease-fire and hostage-release deal.
CIA Director Bill Burns was in Rome on Sunday to meet with senior Israel, Qatari and Egyptian officials in the latest round of talks. Separately, Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is in the region for talks with U.S. partners.
Israel is suspected of running a years-long assassination campaign targeting Iranian nuclear scientists and others associated with its atomic program. In 2020, a top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while traveling in a car outside Tehran.
In Israel's war against Hamas since the October attack, more than 39,360 Palestinians have been killed and more than 90,900 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
In June, an Israeli air strike had killed 10 members of Haniyeh’s family in a refugee camp in northern Gaza. Before that, in April, Israeli airstrike killed three sons of Haniyeh, who had then accused Israel of acting in "the spirit of revenge and murder." Haniyeh's sons were among the highest profile figures to have been killed in the war. (With AP inputs)
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