Mysterious overnight strike kills Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran
Haniyeh was targeted hours after assassination of Hezbollah's chief of staff in Beirut
This is a developing story...
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, was killed in the Iranian capital of Tehran early on Wednesday morning.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hamas confirmed that Haniyeh was assassinated in an attack on the guest house where he was staying in northern Tehran. He had first attended the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian regime's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian before returning to the guest house, where the assassination took place shortly after.
One of Haniyeh's bodyguards was also eliminated in the attack.
The final embrace yesterday: Khamenei the terrorist meets with Haniyeh the terrorist in Tehran.
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) July 31, 2024
Hours after, Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. 👏 pic.twitter.com/6wPZk5HCkO
There was no official Israeli comment on the report of the assassination, which followed just hours after Israel confirmed it had eliminated the chief of staff of the Hezbollah terrorist group, Fuad Shukr, in a strike in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Tuesday evening.
Israel Defense Forces told Israeli citizens there were “no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines,” and it would notify the Israeli public as necessary, amid concerns that the strike in the Iranian capital could provoke an Iranian response.
Neither Iran nor Hamas published details regarding the circumstances of the strike. An Iranian source told the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen network that Haniyeh was struck by a guided aerial missile outside of Lebanon.
Haniyeh had traveled to Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president from his home base in Qatar.
The Hug of Death. Hamas Chief Political Officer, Ismail Haniyeh seen giving a Hug yesterday to the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian during his Inauguration Ceremony in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/U7GR4z2Sj1
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 31, 2024
Images from Tuesday showed the Hamas senior leader meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in Gaza, Ziyad al-Nakhaleh.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin stated that he had no information to provide when asked on Wednesday whether the U.S. had advance notice of Israeli involvement in Haniyeh's assassination.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas' political bureau, stated: "The murder of Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not pass in silence."
Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri added, "We are waging an open war for the liberation of Jerusalem and we are ready to pay different prices."
Hussein al-Sheikh, a high-ranking official in the Palestinian Authority who has criticized Hamas in the past –and is widely seen as a pragmatic figure – condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, calling it “a cowardly act.”
Houthi terrorists in Yemen also responded, calling Haniyeh's elimination a "terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of the laws."
On Wednesday morning, The New York Times reported that Iranian officials were in "complete shock" following the assassination of Haniyeh, believing it was a severe blow to Iran's security reputation which the regime strives to project in the region.
Haniyeh and his delegation were staying in a guest house of the IRGC in northern Tehran, the pro-Qatari newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed reported. Informed sources in Egypt also told the newspaper that the PIJ leader stayed in the house but on a different floor.
A high-ranking Iranian spokesman called the assassination a "cowardly act," adding the perpetrators would "undoubtedly" receive a response.
An Iranian source told Reuters that the regime's "security bodies" would decide on "our response strategy" to Haniyeh's dramatic assassination.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which only meets in rare circumstances, convened on Wednesday morning at the Supreme Leader's residence, two Iranian officials told NYT.
They added that Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, which is responsible for the regime's covert foreign operations and directs its regional network of militias and terror groups, was also in attendance.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
