Tehran: Hamas said Wednesday its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran. Haniyeh, based in Qatar, was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian.
"Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his headquarters in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president," the movement said in a statement.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also announced the death, saying Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was "hit" and he was killed along with a bodyguard.
"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," said a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Sepah news website.
The assassination took place at 2am Tehran time, according to reports and he was targeted at his residence.
Pezeshkian vowed on Wednesday to make Israel “regret” the “cowardly” killing of 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”.
Hezbollah reacts
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group condemned the killing, warning his death will only increase the resolve of Iran-backed “resistance” groups.
“The martyrdom of leader Haniyeh... will increase the determination and stubbornness of the mujahideen resistance fighters on all resistance fronts... and will make their resolve stronger in confronting the Zionist enemy,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
The group described Haniyeh as “one of the great resistance leaders of our time who stood bravely against the American hegemony project and the Zionist occupation.”
Hezbollah has been trading near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since its ally Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has met Hamas leaders several times to discuss the war and US-backed negotiations for a truce.
Funeral
Funeral of Haniyeh will be held in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. Qatar has strongly condemned the assassination of the Hamas leader.
Investigation
Iran has announced that an investigation into the assassination is currently underway, with results to be revealed shortly.
Israel is believed to have assassinated Haniyeh and Hezbollah's second-in-command military man within approximately 12 hours from each other.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of Haniyeh's death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring back all hostages taken during the October 7 attack, which sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
The attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Palestinian factions call for general strike, marches
Palestinian factions called for a general strike and marches on Wednesday.
“The national and Islamic factions in Palestine announce a comprehensive strike and anger marches to (protest) the assassination of the great national leader Ismail Haniyeh, which came in the framework of Zionist state terrorism and its war of extermination,” the Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank said a joint statement.
Ismail Haniyeh
Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure having become Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following an upset victory by Hamas in that year's parliamentary election.
Haniyeh had travelled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey during the war, meeting both the Turkish and Iranian presidents.
Haniyeh was said to maintain good relations with the heads of the various Palestinian factions, including rivals to Hamas.
He joined Hamas in 1987 when the militant group was founded amid the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation, which lasted until 1993.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.
