“How Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh was Assassinated in Iran: Implications for Middle East Stability”
An important and possibly unstable development in the continuing war between Israel and Hamas is the killing of Hamas’ political commander, Ismail Haniyeh. On July 30, 2024, Haniyeh was allegedly assassinated in Tehran, Iran, while in town to witness President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian state media claim that he and a bodyguard perished in an attack on their home, while the specifics are still being looked into.
Israel’s TEL AVIV – Ismail Haniyeh, the main political leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, was murdered on Wednesday in a targeted raid in Iran, according to the group. Haniyeh was in Tehran for Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration as the next president of Iran.
While Israeli officials responded with “no comment” when questioned about the Tehran incident, Hamas blamed Israel of murdering Haniyeh.
Gaza’s Palestinian population claimed to be shocked when they heard the news when they got up.
Um Yusuf, who was seated at the door of her shelter in the southern Gaza city of Zuweida, stated, “This was the most difficult news I have ever received in my 70 years alive.” She had learned of Haniyeh’s passing via a radio station on her cell phone.
Who is Ismail Haniyeh?
Haniyeh, 62, grew up in Gaza and was imprisoned in Israel during the first Palestinian uprising of the 1980s.
Following his release, he rose through the ranks of Hamas, and survived an Israeli assassination attempt during the second Palestinian uprising in 2003.
He was Hamas’ top figure in Gaza when the militant group took control of the territory in 2007 and rose to become the head leader of the group in 2017. In 2018, the U.S. State Department formally designated Haniyeh as a terrorist. In recent years, he was based in Qatar’s capital Doha.
During his tenure, Hamas and Israel fought five wars, including the current conflict. Israeli military strikes in Gaza killed several of his sons and his sister this year.
It is unclear how much Haniyeh, based in Qatar, was aware of Hamas’ plans to attack Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7. But Haniyeh had been involved in the high-level negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel.
In May, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he was seeking arrest warrants for Haniyeh and two other senior Hamas officials, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder and hostage-taking during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The prosecutor also seeks arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s defense minister.
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