Israel assassinates Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran
Haniyeh’s assassination marks second major regional escalation by Israel hours after its airstrike on Beirut
Photo: Joe Catron
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Wednesday July 31, 2024, that the leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated along with one of his bodyguards in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the assassination on Wednesday, asserting that an investigation is underway.
As the head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Haniyeh and a delegation of the movement were visiting Iran to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, July 30.
A member of the Political Bureau, Mousa Abu Marzouq, vowed that the movement will take revenge for its leader’s assassination, stating that it “will not pass in vain.” The assassination was described by Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas spokesperson, as a “grave escalation that will not achieve its goals.” Zuhri also said that Hamas will wage “an open war to liberate Al-Quds” and that it is “ready to pay various prices” for liberation. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared Wednesday a day of mourning in honour of Haniyeh, and ordered that flags be flown at half-mast in the West Bank.
A few hours after Haniyeh’s assassination, Iran’s state media said that Haniyeh was killed around 2 a.m. and that he was residing in a housing facility designated for war veterans in northern Tehran. Al Mayadeen also quoted an Iranian official saying, that the “martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran took place following a cross-country missile launch, not inside Iran.” The official told Al Mayadeen that “Haniyeh’s martyrdom by way of missile launched from abroad means an aggression on Iran, and calls for a definite retaliation.”
The Iranian government declared national mourning for three days in the aftermath of Haniyeh’s death. An official public funeral ceremony will be given to Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on Friday, before transporting his body to Qatar’s capital Doha to be buried there, Hamas said in a statement.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian mourned Haniyeh, saying, “Martyrdom is the art of the men of God; the relationship between the proud peoples of Iran and Palestine will be stronger than ever.” Pezeshkian pledged to retaliate, stating, “The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its honour and territorial integrity, and will make terrorist invaders regret their cowardly action.”
The Israeli occupation has not claimed its responsibility for Haniyeh’s assassination as of yet, although leaders in the region strongly suggest Israel is to blame. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also promised “severe punishment” for Israel, saying that avenging Haniyeh’s assassination is “Tehran’s duty.”
Some Israeli media reports stated that the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered cabinet ministers not to comment on the incident. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied on Wednesday that the United States was “aware of or involved in” Haniyeh’s killing in Iran.
The assassination of Haniyeh was carried out several hours after Israel’s airstrike on Hezbollah’s stronghold Al-Dahieh suburb in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which killed at least three people, including two children, and injured scores of others. Israel allegedly claimed the strike was to assassinate senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, in the airstrike in response to the attack on Majdal Shams, which Hezbollah denied responsibility for. Hezbollah confirmed the assassination of Shukr on Wednesday night.
Ismail Haniyeh (1962-2024) was born in al-Shati (Gaza). His family had to flee the Israeli extermination forces in 1948 from al-Majd (today’s Ashkelon). The military action that led to their expulsion was called Operation Yoav. One soldier in that project, Michael Gallant, named… pic.twitter.com/3R7fd8bnQs
— Vijay Prashad (@vijayprashad) July 31, 2024
The recent escalations are viewed by many as indicators that Israel is beating the drums of a regional war, while the United States continues to defend the Zionist state unconditionally. According to The Times of Israel, the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated during a press conference in the Philippines that Washington will help defend Israel if it is attacked, while working to reduce tension in the region following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Austin added that a wider war in the region is not inevitable.
