Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran

International news section 31-07-2024

In a statement, the Islamist faction expressed grief over Haniyeh’s death, attributing it to a “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.”

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that Haniyeh and an Iranian bodyguard were targeted at his residence. Haniyeh had been in Iran to attend President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration. The Guards stated they are investigating the details of the “incident.”

Israel has not yet commented on his death.

Haniyeh, the exiled political chief of Hamas, had spent significant time in recent years in Qatar and Turkey. Known as a pragmatist, he was involved in ceasefire negotiations during the Israel-Gaza conflict, liaised with Iran, Hamas’s primary ally, and met with the Turkish president.

Haniyeh was also reported to have good relations with leaders of various Palestinian factions, including those opposed to Hamas.

Elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017, succeeding Khaled Meshaal, Haniyeh was already a prominent figure, having become Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following Hamas’s unexpected victory in that year’s parliamentary election.