Hamas’ political commander Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran, according to a statement from Gaza’s ruling party, which blamed Israel for his killing, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the statement, Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were murdered when the building where they were living was attacked. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns to our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, who was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” Hamas said on Wednesday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington would attempt to reduce tensions, but would support Israel if attacked.
“I don’t think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunities for diplomacy,” he told reporters during a visit to the Philippines.
The report, which came less than 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed the Hezbollah leader it blamed for a fatal strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, looks to jeopardize any forthcoming cease-fire deal in Gaza.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader, told Reuters that the Palestinian party will continue on its current path, adding: “we are confident of victory.”
On Wednesday, Russia denounced the death of Hamas political bureau director Ismail Haniyeh, calling it an “unacceptable political murder” that will escalate regional tensions.
“This is all very bad. This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russia’s state-run news agency, RIA Novosti.
Following Haniyeh’s murder, China’s foreign ministry stated that it opposes and condemns the act of “assassination.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed rebel Houthi faction described Haniyah’s death as a “heinous terrorist crime.”
Qatar vehemently denounced Haniyeh’s killing, calling it a horrific crime, “a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”
In a statement, Qatar‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “the assassination and reckless targeting of civilians will lead the region into chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”
Iran’s top security authority is likely to convene to determine Iran’s strategy in response to the killing of Haniyeh, a close ally of Tehran, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination of Hamas political chief Haniyeh in a statement that “This [assassination] shows once again that the government of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is not seeking peace. This attack is also aimed at extending the Gaza war to the region. Unless the international community takes measures to stop Israel, our region will face much more serious conflicts.
The assassination happened while “cease fire” negotiations are ongoing in the Qatari Capital, Doha, between an Israeli delegation headed by Mossad spy agent David Barnea, the Palestinian delegation, and Qatar to discuss the Truce and hostages agreement
In January, Israel killed Hamas number two in charge Saleh Al-Arouri along with his bodyguards and four other people in an airstrike in the militant group’s office in Beirut Lebanon.