Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that Mr. Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran just a few hours after the Hamas leader attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. According to Iranian media, the leader of Hamas was assassinated by a precision missile that hit his residence in northern Tehran. The attack occurred at around 2:00 a.m. local time on July 31.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will not be in vain.
"Mr. Haniyeh's sacrifice in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable ties between Tehran, the Palestinians and the resistance forces" - the spokesman emphasized. The information that Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated was announced less than 24 hours after Israel announced the destruction of the commander of the Hezbollah force accused of being behind the deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Reuters commented that the assassination of the leader of Hamas reduces the chance of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
"Israel's assassination of the Haniyeh brothers is a serious escalation aimed at breaking the will of Hamas" - Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, shared with Reuters. He said that Hamas will continue on the path it is pursuing and "believes in victory".
"All the normalization agreements that Arab countries have signed with Israel will not end this conflict " - Mr. Haniyeh once shared on Al Jazeera TV channel in Qatar right after Hamas attacked Israel on Sunday. October 7, 2023, leaving 1,200 people dead and about 250 others held hostage. Israel responded to Hamas with a military campaign against Gaza, killing more than 39,000 people and turning much of the territory into rubble. Mr. Haniyeh's three sons - Hazem, Amir and Mohammad - were killed on April 10 in Gaza when an Israeli airstrike hit their car, according to Hamas. Mr. Haniyeh also lost four grandchildren, three daughters and one son, in the Gaza conflict. He once revealed that at least 60 members of his family were killed in the war.
Appointed to the senior leadership position of Hamas in 2017, Mr. Haniyeh moves between Türkiye and Qatar's capital Doha as a negotiator in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza or exchanges with Iran - Hamas ally.
Reuters said that Mr. Haniyeh, a Sunni Muslim, has made great contributions in building the fighting capacity of Hamas forces, partly through cultivating relationships with Shiite Muslim Iran.
"Mr. Haniyeh is leading Hamas's political war with Arab governments. He is the political and diplomatic front of Hamas" - Adeeb Ziadeh, an expert on Palestinian issues at Qatar University, said. .
