According to the Palestinian militant group and Iranian state media, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed. This is coming on the heels of the October 7 attack on Israel. Hamas said he was killed in an Israeli strike, and that has attracted widespread discontent among Iranians.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to avenge his death. “You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for harsh punishment,” he said, referring to Israel. Before he was killed, Hamas political leader Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend President Masoud Pezeskhian’s inauguration, as well as to hold talks with Iranian leaders.
Israel’s military said it does not respond to reports in foreign media, though senior officials previously vowed to eliminate Hamas in response to the group’s October 7 attack.
The assassination of Haniyeh, a key interlocutor in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations, stokes heightening regional tensions. His death came just hours after Israel confirmed it had killed Hezbollah’s most senior military official in Lebanon.
Ismail Haniyeh is the second leader of an Iran-backed militant group reported to have been killed in recent days, as escalating confrontations between Israel and Lebanon –based Hezbollah threaten to expand into a regional war.
