Hamas said on Wednesday (31/7) that its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli attack in Iran. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration of the country's new president.
“Brothers, the leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of our movement, was killed in a Zionist attack on his headquarters in Tehran, after he attended the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president,” Hamas said in a statement.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also announced the death, saying Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was “attacked” and he was killed along with a bodyguard.
“The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was attacked in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, he and one of his bodyguards became martyrs,” said a statement on the site. News belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Haniyeh had traveled to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday (30/7).
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of Haniyeh's death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas and bring back all hostages held in the October 7 raid that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel have killed 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally. AFP based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also captured 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the military said were killed.
Haniyeh was elected head of Hamas' political bureau in 2017, to replace Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure after becoming Palestinian prime minister in 2006, following Hamas' shock victory in that year's parliamentary elections.
Considered a pragmatist, Haniyeh lives in exile and divides his time between Türkiye and Qatar.
He had traveled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Türkiye during the war, meeting with the Turkish and Iranian presidents.
Haniyeh is thought to maintain good relations with the leaders of various Palestinian factions, including rival Hamas.
He joined Hamas in 1987, when the militant group was founded amid the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation, which lasted until 1993.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory, which did not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.
Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran praised Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, but denied involvement in the attack. (ns/rs)
