{"id":6030,"date":"2024-07-31T15:06:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T15:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/31\/hamas-political-leader-ismail-haniyeh-killed-in-iran-group-says\/"},"modified":"2024-07-31T15:06:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T15:06:47","slug":"hamas-political-leader-ismail-haniyeh-killed-in-iran-group-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/31\/hamas-political-leader-ismail-haniyeh-killed-in-iran-group-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamas\u00a0political leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, group says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been <\/strong>killed in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hamas on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

His killing represents a significant blow to the militant group, eliminating a key figure who headed up its political operations while living overseas. <\/p>\n

In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh in a \u201craid\u201d on his residence in Tehran, following his participation in the inauguration of the new Iranian president. <\/p>\n

The Israeli military said it doesn\u2019t respond to reports in foreign media, though senior officials have previously vowed to eliminate Hamas and its leadership in response to the group\u2019s October 7 attack on Israel. <\/p>\n

It is not clear precisely when Haniyeh, a key interlocutor with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on the ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks in Gaza, was killed. The new Iranian president was sworn in on Tuesday and Hamas released pictures the same day of Haniyeh meeting Iranian officials in Tehran. <\/p>\n

The killing comes at an especially fraught time for the Middle East, with escalating confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah threatening to expand into a wider regional war and as Hamas continues to battle Israel\u2019s military in Gaza amid an unfolding and catastrophic humanitarian crisis. <\/p>\n

Musa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas\u2019 Political Bureau, said Haniyeh\u2019s death would \u201cnot pass in vain,\u201d while another Hamas official said the group is \u201cready to pay various prices.\u201d <\/p>\n

News of Haniyeh\u2019s death came a day after Israel said it killed Hezbollah\u2019s most senior military official, Fu\u2019ad Shukr, in a drone strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a populous neighborhood that is also the Iran-backed group\u2019s stronghold. The strike was the most serious Israeli escalation since confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8. <\/p>\n

The White House said it has seen the reports of Haniyeh\u2019s death but declined to immediately comment further, according to a spokesperson. <\/p>\n

Haniyeh would be the second Hamas senior leader to be killed since the beginning of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. In January, the group said its deputy head of the political bureau Saleh Al Arouri was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Arouri was considered one of the founding members of the Hamas\u2019s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. <\/p>\n

However, the group has been able to weather the death of other key leaders before, including slaying of its co-founders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi who were killed weeks apart in 2004. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis assassination is, in a way, just a matter of when, not a matter of if,\u201d Ravid said. <\/p>\n

Who is Ismail Haniyeh?<\/h2>\n

Haniyeh, 62, was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City, and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada, or uprising. <\/p>\n

As Hamas grew in power, Haniyeh rose through the ranks \u2013 being appointed part of a secret \u201ccollective leadership\u201d in 2004. By 2017 he had become chief of the group \u2013 and was named a \u201cspecially designated global terrorist\u201d by the United States soon after. <\/p>\n

Over the years, he has participated in peace talks with former US President Jimmy Carter, and met with other world leaders including the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian earlier this year. <\/p>\n

In April, Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh\u2019s sons and four of his grandchildren, according to Hamas. <\/p>\n

At the time, Haniyeh \u2013 who was based in Qatar \u2013 insisted their deaths would not affect ongoing ceasefire and hostage talks. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever thinks that by targeting my kids during the negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed upon that it will force Hamas to back down on its demands, is delusional,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/i> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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