Israel has killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniya early on Wednesday. Hamas Chief was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran, which has been confirmed by Hamas. Hamas has issued a statement saying that the head of the Palestinian group’s politburo in Tehran has been killed in a ‘treacherous Israeli attack’. Haniya had come to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moussa Abu Marzouq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said Haniya’s death would be avenged. He said that the ‘cowardly’ murder of Ismail Haniya will be answered.
Hania, who lives in Qatar, was seen at the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Pezeshkian on Tuesday. During the meeting with the Iranian President, Hania had expressed gratitude to Iran for supporting Hamas and Palestine. He also met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei a few hours before he was killed in an Israeli attack on his residence in Tehran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that along with Haniya, her bodyguards have also been killed. In a statement early Wednesday, the IRGC said Hamas chief Ismail Haniya and one of his bodyguards were killed in an attack on his residence in Tehran.
The statement said the attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday and an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the attack.
The President of the Palestinian Authority condemned the killing.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the killing of the Hamas chief and called it a ‘cowardly act’. He has said that killing Ismail Haniya is a very ‘dangerous development’.
What did Israel say?
Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu wrote on the social media site X after the news of Haniya’s murder came out, ‘This is the right way to clean the world of this filth. There will be no imaginary peace or surrender agreement now…no mercy will be shown to such people.
He further said, ‘The strong hand that strikes them will bring peace and some comfort and will strengthen our ability to live in peace with those who seek peace. Hania’s death makes the world a little better.
American MP Mike Waltz has said on Haniya’s death that he was the terrorist face of Hamas whom even Iran could not save. Mike wrote on X, ‘Hania was the terrorist face of Hamas. That person used to socialize with the Ayatollah, holds court in luxury hotels in Qatar and Turkey.
The American MP further wrote in his post, ‘By the way, he embezzled billions of dollars by smuggling goods in Gaza, where people are living in poverty. Even the IRGC could not protect them.