US ‘not aware of or involved in’ Hamas chief’s killing: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the United States was “not aware of or involved in” the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
“This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” Blinken said, according to a transcript shared by his staff from an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore.
Iran: US bears ‘responsibility’ as supporter of Israel
Iran says the United States bears responsibility in the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran because of its support for Israel.
Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised “harsh punishment” for Israel in retaliation for the killing. He said it’s Iran’s duty to avenge the assassination of Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“We consider it our duty to avenge his blood in this bitter and difficult incident that happened in the territory of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said.
‘They killed peace, not Ismail Haniyeh’
War-weary Palestinians in Gaza are mourning the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
“This man could have signed the prisoner exchange deal with the Israelis,” said Saleh al-Shannar, who was displaced from his home in northern Gaza. “Why did they kill him? They killed peace, not Ismail Haniyeh.”
Nour Abu Salam, a displaced woman, said the killing shows Israel doesn’t want to end the war and establish peace in the region.
“By assassinating Haniyeh, they are destroying everything,” she said.
Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators marched through Ramallah in the occupied West Bank in protest against the killing. They carried dozens of green Hamas flags and chanted, “The people want Qassam Brigades,” a reference to the group’s military wing.
Open support in Ramallah for Hamas is rare. Ramallah is the administrative capital of the occupied West Bank and is governed by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority – long at odds with Hamas over the governance of the two Palestinian territories.
Israeli spokesman declines to comment on Haniyeh assassination
“We are not commenting on that particular incident,” spokesman David Mencer told a briefing with journalists.
Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah leaders have accused Israel of carrying out the attack that killed the Hamas political leader. Yet Israeli officials have remained quiet.
Israel has rarely claims responsibility for past killings – though it usually doesn’t deny its role.
In recordings made public on December 4, 2023, the chief of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar, said the country would kill Hamas leaders “in every location, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everyone”.
