Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh Gets Killed in Iran, Hamas alleges Israel’s Involvement

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed along with one of his bodyguards when their residence was attacked in Iran, the Palestinian group declared in a statement on Wednesday. Hamas informed that Ismail Haniyeh was killed in “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran” on Tuesday morning.

Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in of Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian.

“Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his headquarters in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president,” the Hamas statement read.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also confirmed the death of Hamas chief. It said, Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran was “hit” and he was killed along with a bodyguard.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to Haniyeh’s killing.

Israel had vowed to kill Ismail Haniyeh and destroy the Hamas group after October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians.

Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal. Haniyeh lived in exile and split his time between Turkey and Qatar. He had travelled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey during the war, meeting both the Turkish and Iranian presidents.

Haniyeh joined Hamas in 1987.