Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Tehran
Haniyeh has led the Hamas Political Bureau since 2017
The Palestinian radical movement Hamas has reported that its Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli raid targeting his place of stay in Tehran following his participation in the inauguration of Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a statement posted on the official Hamas Telegram channel.
Al Hadath television reported that Haniyeh was in his bedroom when the missile hit. The projectile that killed the Hamas political chief was launched from a foreign country, Al Mayadeen quoted an Iranian source as saying.
Haniyeh was staying at a residence for war veterans, according to Iran’s Fars news agency. The airstrike hit the building at around 2:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday (4 AM IST)
Haniyeh was killed as an “airborne projectile” hit the residence in northern Tehran, Iran’s Nournews reported.
Hamas’ reaction
Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzook has warned that the assassination of Haniyeh will not go unanswered.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas spokesman, described the killing of the Hamas political chief as an escalation will not help Israel achieve its goals in fighting against the movement.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) refused to comment on reports of the Hamas Politburo chief’s death. The White House said it was aware of reports that Haniyeh had been assassinated in Iran, CNN reported. The White House spokesman refused to elaborate.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. The killing of Haniyeh will not stop resistance fighters from battling the Israeli Army in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian radical movement Islamic Jihad said.
The Palestinian movement Fatah called the killing of Haniyeh “a hideous crime and a truly cowardly act” as it called on the Palestinians to preserve the political and geographical unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination of the Hamas political chief and offered condolences to the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian resistance has the right to punish the people behind the killing of Haniyeh, Vice President of the outgoing Iranian government Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi said.
Haniyeh’s background
Ismail Haniyeh was reportedly born in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza in 1962 (no exact date is known). In 1987, he graduated from the Arabic literature faculty of the Islamic University of Gaza. In March 2004, Haniyeh became a Hamas leader as he steered the movement’s activities in the Gaza Strip.
In February 2006, he became Prime Minister of the State of Palestinian National Authority, heading the one-party government of Hamas until February 2017.
In June 2007, Abbas dismissed the Haniyeh-led Cabinet from office after Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip. However, Haniyeh rejected the decree as illegitimate. The government, consisting exclusively of Hamas members, remained in place in the Gaza Strip until 2014.
In the spring of 2014, Haniyeh resigned, paving the way to form a national unity government composed of Fatah and Hamas members (the unity government never got off the ground and was later dissolved).
In 2014-2017, he acted as the leader of Hamas within the Gaza Strip before being replaced by Yahya Sinwar.
Haniyeh has led the Hamas Political Bureau since 2017.
