The top political leader of Hamas was assassinated yesterday in a stunning Israeli strike in Iran that has left the Palestinian group vowing to take revenge and could trigger yet more chaos in the Middle East.
HOW HANIYEH WAS MURDERED
Ismail Haniyeh, who had escaped the horrors of the war in Gaza while residing in Qatar, travelled to Iran to attend the inauguration of new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.
But Israel‘s Defence Forces seized the chance to hit Haniyeh and conducted a daring missile strike on his residence in Tehran just hours after the event, killing the Hamas leader and a security guard.
The assassination, confirmed by both Hamas and Iranian authorities, marks the most high-profile killing since October 7 and could prove to be a tipping point in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group.
REACTIONS
It has also sparked concerns that Hamas’ regional allies – Iran, Lebanon‘s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – could seek to hit back against Israel, spreading yet more violence in the region.
The National Security Council in Iran said today that ‘the elimination of Haniyeh crossed the red lines, Israel will bear a great price’.
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The assassination of Hamas’ chief and their ally at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards residence in the capital city constitutes a humiliating blow for the Islamic Republic and will likely precipitate a harsh retaliation.
Iran previously sent a barrage of missiles and drones to attack Israel earlier this year after Tel-Aviv struck the Iranian embassy in Syria in April.
Meanwhile, international observers have sounded the alarm that Hamas could pull out of months of negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll nears 40,000.
