By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Tehran, according to the Palestinian militant group and Iranian state media.
Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after the building where they were staying was struck, the statement said, adding that Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns to our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: Brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, who was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” Hamas said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced Haniyeh’s death.
“Early this morning, the residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and one of his bodyguards’ martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon,” the IRGC said in a statement.
It gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed and the IRGC said the attack was under investigation.
Israel remained silent on Haniyeh’s death, with media there reporting that the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered cabinet ministers not to comment. Far-right Heritage Minister Amihai Elihayu, however, celebrated the Hamas leader’s death on social media platform X.
The killing “makes the world a little better,” he wrote in Hebrew.
Israel launched a war in Gaza, promising to eliminate Hamas and kill its leaders after the group attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 others were taken captive.
At least 39,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war, with 90,996 injured.
Reactions:
- Hamas: Senior official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Haniyeh’s killing is a “grave escalation” and said Hamas is “confident of victory.” He also told Hamas-affiliated media: “This occupation must realize that it has opened fire on itself, not on Ismail Haniyeh.” Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of the group’s political bureau, said the killing “will not pass in vain.”
- Palestinian leaders: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the killing, according to the WAFA news agency. The secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, also denounced the killing.
- US: The White House has seen the reports of Haniyeh’s killing, a spokesperson said, but declined to immediately comment further. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he does not think war in the Middle East is inevitable, but if Israel were to be attacked, the US would help defend it.