Middle East

Israeli raid in Tehran, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed

Israel's army struck Hamas and Hezbollah at the heart within hours, killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and striking a building where Hezbollah's number two Fuad Shukr was present. At the time a spokesman for the organisation confirmed that Shukr was in the building but not that he died

31 July 2024

Palestinians attend a protest after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

3' min read

Key points

Hamas leader dead
Hamas: 'Cowardly act, will not go unanswered'
Hezbollah's number two also hit
Iran: "Haniyeh's blood will not go to waste"
Blinken and Tajani: lowering the tension
Moscow: 'Political murder, will lead to escalation'
Ue: we ask all parties for maximum restraint

3' min read

Israel's army struck Hamas and Hezbollah at the heart within hours, killing the leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh and striking a building where Hezbollah's number two Fuad Shukr was present. At the time a spokesman for the organisation confirmed that Shukr was in the building but not that he died.

Ucciso Haniyeh, leader di Hamas

Hamas leader dead

Hamas announced the death of its leader following an Israeli raid against his residence in Tehran. Haniyeh had been head of the Hamas political bureau since 2017. He was also prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 2006 to 2007 and head of the administration of the Gaza Strip from 2014 to 2017. A bodyguard was also killed with him. Haniyeh's funeral will be held tomorrow, Thursday 1 August, in the Iranian capital.

Haniyeh was killed in the room where he was staying in Tehran by a rocket, said Hamas spokesman and number two, Khalil al-Hayya. Earlier, Iranian and Saudi state media had reported that Haniyeh was killed by a ''guided missile''.

Haniyeh, il leader di Hamas ucciso a Teheran
Photogallery19 foto

Hamas: 'Cowardly act, will not go unanswered'

"The assassination of commander Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act that will not go unanswered," said Musa Abou Marzouk, a top Hamas leader. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said they are "investigating the incident of the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh .

Iran, Haniyeh ieri in Parlamento al giuramento di Pezeshkian

Hezbollah's number two also hit

In the same hours and three days after the massacre of Druze children in Majdal Shams in the northern Golan, Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah also arrived. A powerful explosion hit the stronghold of the pro-Iranian Shiite militiamen in Beirut in the evening. The attack targeted the Shura Council of Hezbollah as well as the operations room of the military arm of the Party of God and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The IDF target was Fuad Shukr, number two of Hassan Nasrallah's militia. According to Hezbollah, the Israeli strike failed but other sources, quoted by Al Arabiya and the Saudi TV al Adht, reported the death of the Shiite high commander.

Una fotografia di Fuad Shukr diffusa dagli Stati Uniti, con l’annuncio di una taglia fino a 5 milioni di dollari per chiunque fornisca informazioni sulla sua persona (REUTERS)

Iran: 'Haniyeh's blood will not go to waste. We will make Israel repent"

"The blood of assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will not be wasted," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, quoted by Iranian agencies. Iranian state TV reports that the killing of Ismail Haniyeh will delay the ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza by several months and provoke retaliation from Iranian-backed groups in the region. Israeli media report this. Iranian officials stress that the statements on state television reflect the views of Supreme Leader Khamenei and the government.

Il leader supremo iraniano Ali Khamenei (a destra) con il leader di Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in una foto scattata a Tehran lo scorso 30 giugno (Afp)

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity, its honour, and will make the terrorist invaders repent for their cowardly action," Iran's president, Massoud Pezeshkian, said afterwards, commenting on X the killing in Tehran of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, who had attended his inauguration ceremony in Iran.

"The bond between the two proud nations of Iran and Palestine will be stronger than before, and the path of resistance and defence of the oppressed will be followed more strongly than ever," Pezeshkian added, stating that Iran is mourning Haniyeh.

Iran , l'ultima apparizione del capo di Hamas

Blinken and Tajani: lower the tension

The first US reactions come from the mouth of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in an interview with Channel News Asia during his visit to Singapore: "Let's lower the tension" and focus on "the ceasefire in Gaza" which is "an imperative". "One of the things we have been focusing on," Blinken continued, "is trying to make sure that the conflict that is ongoing in Gaza does not escalate. We will continue to do that."

Of the same tenor was the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who, when asked whether Italy's position coincided with that expressed by the US Secretary of State, replied: 'Absolutely'.

Moscow: 'Political murder, will lead to escalation'

The killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran is "an absolutely unacceptable political murder" that "will lead to a further escalation of tensions". These are the words of the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, reported by the Russian Ria agency.

EU: we ask all parties for maximum restraint

"The EU has a principled position of rejecting extrajudicial killings and supporting the rule of law, including in international criminal justice. Recall that the EU and other partners have placed Hamas on the list of terrorist organisations and that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has requested an arrest warrant against Ismail Haniyeh on various charges of war crimes>. This was stated by EU External Action Service spokesman Peter Stano. "We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to avoid any further escalation," he adds.