Hamas said its political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran”. Iran’s president vows to make Israel ‘regret cowardly action’, as Supreme Leader Khamenei says avenging Haniyeh’s killing is Tehran’s duty.
There was no immediate comment from Israel. The Israeli military said it was conducting a situational assessment.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a statement promised ‘harsh punishment’ for Israel after Haniyeh’s killing.
Here’s his full statement:
“The brave and prominent Palestinian mujahideen leader Ismail Haniyeh joined Allah at dawn last night and the great resistance front is in mourning. The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved, but it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.
Martyr Haniyeh took his precious life in his hands for many years in the field of honorable struggle and was ready for martyrdom, and he had offered his children and people on this path. He was not afraid of becoming a martyr in the way of God and saving God’s servants, but we consider it our duty to avenge his blood in this bitter and difficult incident that happened in the territory of the Islamic Republic.
I offer my condolences to the Islamic ummah, to the resistance front, to the brave and proud nation of Palestine, and especially to the family and survivors of Martyr Haniyeh and one of his companions who was martyred with him, and I ask God Almighty to raise their ranks.”
Before his assassination, Haniyeh’s family members based in Gaza have been targeted by Israel.
In June, 10 members of his family were killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza’s Shati refugee camp. Back then, the Hamas leader said that more than 60 of his family members had been killed since the start of the war on October 7.
In April, three of his sons – Hazem, Amir and Mohammad – were killed when the car they were driving in was bombed in Gaza’s Shati camp.
Four of Haniyeh’s grandchildren, three girls and a boy, were also killed in the attack, according to Hamas.
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