Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior Hamas leaders, was targeted and killed in Iran, according to a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps on Wednesday.
Hamas accused Israel of killing Mr. Haniyeh, who led the Hamas political operations from exile in Qatar, in Tehran. Hamas made the statement on its official Telegram account.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.He was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of the newly elected president of Iran.
Ibrahim Madhoun, an analyst close to Hamas, said the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, was “a major blow” for the group, but he said it wouldn’t upend it. Hamas faced this before with the deaths of Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, he said, naming Hamas leaders killed by Israel. The killing of the Hamas political leader, he said, illustrated that there were no red lines in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel’s military said it wasn’t issuing new emergency orders for the Israeli public, a possible sign that Israeli officials did not expect immediate retaliation. “We prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war,” said Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman. But he added that the Israeli military was “fully prepared for any scenario.”
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