Israeli government minister celebrates Hamas chief’s assassination
Israel’s Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu said the killing of the Hamas leader “makes the world a little better”.
“No mercy for these mortals,” Eliyahu wrote in a post on X. “The iron hand that will strike them, is the one that will bring peace and a little comfort and strengthen our ability to live in peace with those who desire peace,” he said.
Israeli military declines to comment
The AFP news agency is reporting that the Israeli military has declined to comment on foreign media reports of Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination.
Israel took it too far by killing Haniyeh: Expert
Hassan Barari, a professor at Qatar University, says he was not surprised at the assassination of Israel Haniyeh.
“This is a declared policy of Israel. Netanyahu has been saying that he will target Hamas leaders inside or outside Gaza,” Barari said. “It was clear they would try to do this, but I did not expect it to happen in Tehran”, Barari said, adding that Israel took it too far by targeting Haniyeh in Iran.
“This is a message to Tehran itself and a message to everyone that Israel is determined to continue the war,” he said.
Haniyeh was one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas who rallied support for the Palestinian cause around the world. But he was not the first Hamas leader assassinated by Israel, Barari said.
“In 2004, they assassinated Shaikh Ahmad Yasin, the spiritual leader and founder of Hamas, a month after they assassinated Yasin’s successor Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi in Gaza. This never finished Hamas. It’s not like Israel is fighting a mafia, those people represent Palestinian resistance,” he said.
“Haniyeh joined Hamas from the very beginning since its establishment in 1987. He came from a refugee family which was displaced from what is now Israel. He joined the resistance movement and took part in the first Intifada and second Intifada. He was one of the most prominent people in Hamas.”
Hamas leaders assassinated by Israel in the past
- January 1996: Israel assassinated Hamas military leader Yahya Ayyash in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya.
- March 2004: Hamas spiritual leader and founder Sheikh Ahmed Yasin was killed by Israeli strike in Gaza.
- April 2004: Yasin’s successor and Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was killed by Israeli helicopter missile strike in Gaza City.
- January 2024: Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut.
- July 2024: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Haniyeh’s assassination heightens regional tensions
Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to participate in the inauguration of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian, and we understand that a rocket was launched at the residence he was staying in.
This makes matters very complicated.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. And this may escalate the whole situation in the region, especially as it comes in conjunction with the targeting of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. We don’t know his state for the moment. Hezbollah did not issue a statement.
So now the big question is, what’s going to happen? What will the repercussions be? Where is the region going to go? This may force Iran to retaliate. Haniyeh was killed on its soil. So we are facing a very complicated situation.
Israel a ‘mad dog not on a leash’
Sami al-Arian, the director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University, has described Israel as a “mad dog [that’s] not on [a] leash”, and labelled it a “terrorist rogue state” after Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran.
“This is not the conduct of a civilised state that is recognised throughout the world. We’re talking about a very significant impact [this assassination] is going to have,” al-Arian told Al Jazeera.
“This is a huge escalation – what happened yesterday in Lebanon, what’s happening today in Tehran. It’s an escalation by [Israel] and that’s going to have significant ramifications.”
Al-Arian called for the US to “rein in this outlaw state” before things “really get out of hand”.
Mahmoud Abbas condemns killing of Haniyeh, calls on Palestinians to unite
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, describing the killing as a cowardly act and a dangerous development, the Wafa news agency reports.
Abbas also called on Palestinians “to unite, be patient and steadfast in the face of the Israeli occupation”, Wafa said.
General strike declared in West Bank cities
Palestinian resistance groups have called for a “comprehensive strike” and mass demonstrations in various cities in the occupied West Bank to protest against Haniyeh’s assassination, according to local media reports.
Strikes have been called in cities including Ramallah and Nablus, where the An-Najah University also released a statement calling for the “suspension of work hours to mourn” Haniyeh.
