Iran’s Supreme leader has vowed to harshly punish Israel for killing Hamas Chief-Haniyeh
Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the early hours of Wednesday July 31 in what has been described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in the Iranian capital, Tehran”. The Iranian president has vowed to make Israel ‘regret their cowardly action’ while the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said avenging Haniyeh’s killing is Tehran’s duty.
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved,” Khamenei said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that “it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”
Haniyeh was the tough-talking face of the Palestinian group’s international diplomacy while war took rage back in Gaza, where three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the hardliner members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza.
He was appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017 compelling him to move between Turkey and Qatar’s capital Doha while escaping the travel restrictions of the blockaded Gaza Strip which enabled him to act as a negotiator in ceasefire talks.
The Israel authorities did not make any comment about the death but revealed that the military was conducting a situational assessment.
The killing of Haniyeh came barely 24hours after three people including two children were killed and over 74 others wounded in an Israel led attack on Beirut.
Israeli military described the attack as one that targeted an assassination operation against Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander.
At least 39,400 people have been killed and 90,996 wounded in a war waged by Israel on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.
