Haniyeh attended the new Iranian President’s swearing-in ceremony in Tehran, the country’s capital.
A Hamas statement on Wednesday confirmed that Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Islamist organization Hamas, which governs the Palestinian territory of Gaza, had been “assassinated” in Tehran, Iran.
After Iran’s Revolutionary Guards revealed the “martyrdom” of the main leader of the Gaza-based group, Hamas confirmed Haniyeh’s passing.
“With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and combatants of the Resistant Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning the residence of Mr. Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred,” the statement issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
The head of Hamas was in the Iranian capital for Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration as the country’s new president.
Although no one took credit for the attack right away, pundits on Iranian state television started blaming Israel right away. According to the Hamas statement, Haniyeh was killed in a “airstrike” on his home. Hamas also placed the blame squarely on Israel.
On October 7, the day of Hamas’s attacks in Israel, a war broke out between Israel and the group, resulting in over 1200 deaths and about 250 hostages.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 90,000 Palestinians have been injured and about 40,000 people have died as a result of the subsequent retaliation.
Iran and Israel have also long been adversaries.
