Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early in the morning in Iran, according to the Palestinian militant group on Wednesday, raising fears of further escalation in a region already destabilised by Israel’s war in Gaza and worsening conflict in Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which had vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s October. 7th attack on southern Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh’s death, which occurred hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president. They announced an investigation into the incident. Israel has not commented, and the Israeli military stated it was conducting a situational assessment but had not issued new security guidelines for civilians.
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the United States would work to ease tensions but affirmed that it would help defend Israel if attacked.
This news came less than a day after Israel claimed to have killed the Hezbollah commander responsible for a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
It appears to diminish the prospects of an imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas,” said senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri to Reuters. He added that Hamas would continue its current path and expressed confidence in their victory.
Iran’s top security body is expected to convene to determine Iran’s strategy in response to Haniyeh’s death, a close ally of Tehran, according to a knowledgeable source. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing, and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and mass demonstrations.
Haniyeh, usually based in Qatar, has been a key figure in the Palestinian group’s international diplomacy. The conflict, initiated by the Hamas-led attack on Israel has been raging in Gaza, where three of Haniyeh’s sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s office had requested an arrest warrant for Haniyeh over alleged war crimes, alongside a similar request for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Since his appointment as Hamas’ top leader in 2017, Haniyeh has moved between Turkey and Qatar’s capital Doha, circumventing travel restrictions from the blockaded Gaza Strip and facilitating his role as a negotiator in ceasefire talks and in communications with Hamas’ ally Iran.
The assassination of Haniyeh occurs as Israel’s campaign in Gaza nears the end of its 10th month, with no signs of the conflict’s resolution. Despite criticism of Netanyahu’s government from families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza and increasing international calls for a ceasefire, talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar seem to have stalled.
Simultaneously, the risk of war between Israel and Hezbollah has increased following the strike in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children in a Druze village on Saturday, and the subsequent killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
The war began on October 7th when Hamas-led fighters breached Gaza’s security barriers and launched a devastating attack on nearby Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and abducting approximately 250 hostages into Gaza.
In response, Israel initiated a relentless ground and air offensive in the densely populated coastal enclave, resulting in over 39,000 deaths and leaving more than 2 million people facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
Who was Ismail Haniyeh?
Ismail Haniyeh, born on January 29th, 1963, in the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, was a prominent Palestinian political figure and the chief leader of the terrorist group Hamas.
He attended the Islamic University of Gaza, where he earned a degree in Arabic literature and became actively involved in student politics, eventually leading the Islamic Bloc, the student wing of Hamas.
Haniyeh’s rise within Hamas was steady; he became a close associate of the organisation’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
His influence within the group grew significantly after he was appointed as Yassin’s assistant following the latter’s release from Israeli prison in 1997. Haniyeh’s political prominence was further solidified after the assassination of Yassin and his successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, in 2004.
In 2006, Haniyeh led Hamas to a surprising victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, defeating the long-dominant Fatah party.
Subsequently, he was appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. However, following violent clashes between Hamas and Fatah, Haniyeh’s government was dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Despite this, Haniyeh continued to serve as the de facto head of government in Gaza, where Hamas retained control.
Under Haniyeh’s leadership, Hamas maintained its stance of resistance against Israeli occupation, which led to several conflicts with Israel. His tenure saw periods of both severe conflict and tenuous ceasefires, contributing to the ongoing humanitarian and political crises in Gaza.
In 2017, Haniyeh was elected as the head of Hamas’s political bureau, succeeding Khaled Mashal.
He continued to be a central figure in Palestinian politics, advocating for Palestinian rights and navigating the complex dynamics of regional and international relations until his death.
Main Image: By Council.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=144057824
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[…] the potential repercussions following recent targeted assassinations in Tehran. The elimination of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior figure, has sparked concerns over an impending retaliatory strike from Iran, with […]
[…] situation escalated following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a bomb explosion at his guest house in Iran, coinciding with the inauguration day of Iran’s new president. In response, Iran’s […]