Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh Killed In Iran

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran after attending the inauguration of the country's new president, Iran and the militant group said on Wednesday.

"With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and combatants of the Resistant Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning [Wednesday] the residence of Mr. Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred," the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) statement read.

Hamas said Haniyeh was killed "in a Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran" after he attended the swearing-in of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, along with other Hamas officials and officials from Hezbollah and allied groups.

"Hamas declares to the great Palestinian people and the people of the Arab and Islamic nations and all the free people of the world, brother leader Ismail Ismail Haniyeh a martyr," Hamas said in its terse statement.

In another statement, the group quoted Haniyeh as saying that the Palestinian cause has "costs" and "we are ready for these costs: martyrdom for the sake of Palestine, and for the sake of God Almighty, and for the sake of the dignity of this nation."

Israel vowed to eliminate Ismail Haniyeh and dismantle the Hamas group following the October 7 attack, which led to the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 39,400 deaths, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Ismail Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017, succeeding Khaled Meshaal. Known as a pragmatist, Haniyeh has lived in exile, dividing his time between Turkey and Qatar. During the conflict, he travelled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey, meeting with the Turkish and Iranian presidents.

Haniyeh is known for maintaining good relations with leaders of various Palestinian factions, including those rivalling Hamas. He joined Hamas in 1987, the year the group was founded during the first Palestinian intifada, an uprising against Israeli occupation that lasted until 1993.