Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, hours before he was killed by an airstrike, greeting new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tehran, July 30, 2024

Israel’s Deadly — But Inconclusive — Message With Killing of Hamas Leader Haniyeh

EA on Australia’s ABC and Times Radio: From 9-11 to the Middle East and Iran in 2024

EA on RTE and India’s Firstpost: Israel’s Killing of Hamas Leader Haniyeh and Hezbollah Commander Shukr

EA on International Media: Golan Heights Killings Raise Prospect of Israel-Hezbollah War

UPDATE 1211 GMT:

Two Iranian officials have told the UK-based Telegraph that Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad hired Iranian security agents to plant explosives in the guesthouse where Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was staying in Tehran.

The account complements that given to the New York Times by eight officials, including two Iranians (see 1001 GMT, Aug 2).

An assassination was initially scheduled for May in another location, when Haniyeh attended the funeral of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. It was postponed because of large crowds inside the building and the high risk of failure.

Instead, two Iranian agents placed explosive devices in three rooms of the Revolutionary Guards guesthouse. The operatives snuck out of the country but another one remained in Iran. At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, the explosives were detonated.

One official said the agents were from the Ansar al-Mahdi protection unit of the Revolutionary Guards.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards are putting out a different account. In a statement, they claimed Haniyeh was killed by “a short-range projectile with a warhead of about 7 kg [15.4 lbs] accompanied by a severe explosion from outside his room”.

The Guards declared that the assassination was “planned and carried out by the Zionist regime” and supported by the “criminal government of the US”. Iran’s response will be “severe and at the appropriate time, place and manner”, they asserted.

UPDATE, AUG 3:

Responding to Wednesday’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iranian authorities have arrested more than two dozen people, including senior intelligence officers, military officials and staff workers at the Revolutionary Guards-run guesthouse where Haniyeh was staying.

“Two Iranians familiar with the investigation” said the Revolutionary Guards specialized intelligence unit for espionage has taken over the search for the killers and those who might have assisted them.

The Guards said in a statement that “the scope and details of this incident are under investigation and will be announced in due course”.

The Iranian sources for the New York Times said security agents raided the guesthouse compound. They put all staff in quarantine, arrested some, and confiscated all electronic devices, including personal phones.

Another team interrogated senior military and intelligence officials involved in safeguarding Tehran. Some were arrested until investigations are completed.

Saying prayers at Haniyeh’s funeral in Tehran on Friday, the Supreme Leader was surrounded by more bodyguards than usual. Ayatollah Khamenei then left immediately afterwards, only pausing briefly to greet Haniyeh’s son.

Social media accounts posted footage of Khamenei glancing at the sky, claiming it was from concern about another attack.

UPDATE 1602 GMT:

Funeral prayers have been held for assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar.

Haniyeh and his bodyguard were laid out in coffins draped with Palestinian flags, as senior leaders of Hamas’ Qatar-based political office paid their respects to Haniyeh’s family.

Khalil al-Hayya, a possible successor as political head of Hamas, said Haniyeh was “no better or dearer” than the children killed in Gaza.

“We are sure that his blood will bring out victory, dignity and liberation,” he said.

UPDATE 1021 GMT:

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has spoken of “a new phase” in the conflict with Israel after the Israeli assassinations of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh.

In a televised address to about 1,000 mourners at Shukr’s funeral in Beirut, Nasrallah said, “The enemy, and those who are behind the enemy, must await our inevitable response….You do not know what red lines you crossed.”

Five sources said top Iranian officials met representatives of allies from Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation.

UPDATE 1001 GMT:

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to “seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official”.

Initial reports indicated that an Israeli airstrike had slain Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. But five Middle Eastern officials said the bomb was hidden two months ago in the guesthouse which is run and protected by the Revolutionary Guards Corps in a large compound in northern Tehran.

The bomb was detonated remotely at 2 a.m. once it was confirmed that Haniyeh was inside his room at the guesthouse. The Hamas leader died immediately, and his bodyguard was also killed.

The Middle Eastern officials said Haniyeh had stayed at the guesthouse several times when visiting Tehran.

Among those immediately notified of the bombing was Gen. Esmail Qa’ani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards branch for operations outside Iran, the Quds Force. He woke up the Supreme Leader with the news.

At 6 a.m., the Revolutionary Guards issued a statement that Haniyeh had been killed. An hour later, Ayatollah Khamenei summoned the members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council to his compound for an emergency meeting, at which he issued an order to strike Israel in retaliation.

Israeli intelligence briefed the US and other Western governments on the details of the operation in the immediate aftermath, according to the five Middle Eastern officials.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington received no advance knowledge of the assassination plot.

UPDATE, AUG 2:

US President Joe Biden has said that Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “doesn’t help” efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the Israeli open-ended war on Gaza.

Speaking to reporters late Thursday, Biden said he had a “very direct” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day.

Repeating “very direct” for emphasis, the President explained, “We have the basis for a ceasefire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.”

An earlier White House statement said Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis”.

It added, “The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments.”

UPDATE 0841 GMT:

The Israel Defense Forces claim confirmation that they killed Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing and the planner of the October 7 mass killings inside Israel, in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13.

The military said it obtained intelligence in the past few hours confirming Deif’s death.

Deif was targeted in a strike on a compound belonging to Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, in the Khan Younis area. The attack killed more than 90 people.

A day later, Salameh’s death was confirmed by the military, but the IDF said it did not have final information regarding Deif.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said today that Deif’s killing is “a significant milestone in the process of dismantling Hamas”. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared, “The collapse of Hamas is closer than ever as we fight on every front. We cannot stop just a moment before victory.”

UPDATE 0759 GMT:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged “all parties” in the Middle East to stop “escalatory actions” and to complete a ceasefire in Gaza.

Speaking in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, Blinken said the Middle East is on a path “toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity, and it is crucial that we break this cycle”.

UPDATE 0744 GMT:

Footage of the funeral ceremony of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran:

UPDATE, AUG 1:

The funeral of Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh has begun in Iran’s capital Tehran.

The Supreme leader led prayers over Haniyeh’s body at Tehran University. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya gave speeches to crowds.

Echoing the Supreme Leader, Qalibaf said Israel will pay a “heavy price”: “It is our duty to react in the right place and at the right time.”

The Speaker insisted that Israel’s killings of Haniyeh and Hezbollah military comander were the outcome of its “weakness”: “Such acts of terror will have no impact on the [continuation] of our path.”

The mourning procession will then move to Azadi (Freedom) Square, the site of mass gatherings in the capital such as the protests against the disputed 2009 Presidential election.

UPDATE 2034 GMT:

Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued an order for Tehran to strike Israel, according to “three Iranian officials briefed” on the command.

Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, soon after the killing of Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh.

Two of the three sources, speaking to the New York Times, are members of the Revolutionary Guards.

UPDATE 2026 GMT:

The Biden Administration has said that there are “no signs that an escalation is imminent” in the Middle East.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, “I’m not going to be Pollyannish about it – we’re obviously concerned.”

UPDATE 1841 GMT:

Hezbollah has confirmed the death of its military commander Fuad Shukr in Israel’s airstrike on a southern Beirut residential block on Tuesday.

The body of Shukr has been found in the rubble of a damaged building.

The group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah will make a statement on Thursday.

UPDATE 1832 GMT:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a press conference that Israel is “fighting the evil axis of Iran” in a “war of existence”.

He expressed “appreciation” to the Israel Defense Forces for the killing of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr, “one of the most wanted terrorists in the world”, in an airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday.

Warning that anyone opposing Israel would “pay a heavy price”, Netanyahu defended his open-ended mass killings in Gaza.

He said there has not been “a single week when I have not been told domestically and from outside the country” to halt. However, “I did not give into these voices then, and I will not give into them today. If we had given into these pressures, we would not have taken out these leaders of Hamas.”

UPDATE 1827 GMT:

UN Secretary General António Guterres said Israel’s targeted assassinations in Beirut and Tehran are a “dangerous escalation” of the conflict in the Middle East.

His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said:

All efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages, a massive increase of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and a return to calm in Lebanon and across the Blue Line.

Rather than that, what we are seeing are efforts to undermine these goals.

Guterres emphasized, “Restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time,” and urged all parties to work towards regional de-escalation.

UPDATE 1505 GMT:

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has asserted:

This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives.

Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory.

In contrast, Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu proclaimed:

This is the right way to clean the world of this filth. No more imaginary peace/surrender agreements. No more mercy.

The iron hand that will strike them is the one that will bring peace and a little comfort and strengthen our ability to live in peace with those who desire peace. Haniyeh’s death makes the world a little better.

UPDATE 1456 GMT:

In a video message, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said:

My message to Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon is: now is the time to leave. If you are in Australia and thinking of travelling to Lebanon, do not.

There is a real risk that the conflict in the region escalates seriously. The security situation could deteriorate quickly, with little or no notice.

Wong warned, Beirut airport could close completely if the situation worsens. And if that happens, the government may not be able to help Australians still in Lebanon to evacuate. You may not be able to leave Lebanon for an extended period.”

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel, and ask any British nationals in Lebanon to register their presence on a Government website.

UPDATE 1146 GMT:

While continuing to make no comment about responsibility for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Israel briefly published a Facebook post celebrating the assassination.

The Government Press Office announced the killing with the word “Eliminated” in large black lettering across Haniyeh’s face.

After a few minutes, the image was removed from the page.

UPDATE 1047 GMT:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has declined to comment on the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

Instead, speaking in Singapore, he said:

Nothing takes away from the importance of, as I said a moment ago, getting to the ceasefire [in Gaza], which is manifestly in the interests of the hostages and bringing them home. It’s manifestly in the interests of Palestinians who are suffering terribly every single day: children, women, men in Gaza that have been caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making.

Blinken later told Channel News Asia about the assassination, “This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate.”

Germany is one of the first European countries to react. Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said, “It is essential to avoid further escalation and a regional conflagration….We call on all actors to exercise maximum restraint; the logic of tit-for-tat reprisals is the wrong path.”

UPDATE 1027 GMT:

Egypt says Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran are a “dangerous escalation” which undermine “the strenuous efforts made by Egypt and its partners to stop the war in the Gaza Strip”.

The Foreign Ministry said the attacks “indicate the absence of Israeli political will to calm the situation”. It called on the UN Security Council to “prevent the security situation in the region from spiraling out of control”.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, who has been mediating ceasefire negotiations, questioned if they can now succeed:

And Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, condemning Haniyeh’s assassination “in the strongest terms”, said the “aggressive operation is a flagrant violation of international laws” which threatens regional security and stability.

UPDATE 1004 GMT:

Iran’s new 1st Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, has pulled back the aggressive rhetoric of the Supreme Leader pledging revenge for Israel’s killing of Ismail Haniyeh.

Aref said Tehran has no intention of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The Vice President did echo Ayatollah Khamenei’s rhetoric that the West is complicit in Israel’s “state terrorism”.

This desperate act was based on sinister goals, including creating a new crisis at the regional level and challenging the regional and international relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran at this point in time, especially at the beginning of the government of national unity.

Israel Defense Yoav Gallant said Israel is not seeking to escalate war but is prepared to handle all scenarios.

Gallant was visiting a missile defense battery when he spoke to reporters.

UPDATE 0957 GMT:

Video of Ismail Haniyeh’s meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader, hours before the Hamas official was killed in Tehran:

UPDATE 0928 GMT:

Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has added to the condemnation of “Israel’s assassination” of Ismail Haniyeh:

Israel’s continuation of its aggression against Gaza, its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and its crimes against them, and without international action to curb its aggression, will drag the region towards more wars and destruction.

UPDATE 0833 GMT:

Iran’s Supreme Leader says it is “Tehran’s duty” to avenge the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh because it occurred in the Iranian capital.

Ayatollah Khamenei declared that Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment” upon it.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “[Iran will] defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

UPDATE 0703 GMT:

After its meeting, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council effectively issued a statement through its outlet Nour News that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh is “a dangerous gamble to undermine Tehran’s deterrence”.

It warned, “Crossing red lines has always been costly for the enemy.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah said the killing will embolden the “determination and stubbornness” of “resistance fighters” and make “their resolve stronger” in the fight against Israel.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned “in the strongest terms” the killing: “This assassination and the reckless Israeli behavior of continuously targeting civilians in Gaza will lead to the region slipping into chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran by an airstrike early Wednesday.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, blamed a “treacherous Zionist raid” for the 2 a.m. killing at Haniyeh’s “residence in Tehran, after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President” Masoud Pezeshkian.

The group called it a “grave escalation that will not achieve its goals”. Senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk said the “cowardly act that will not go unpunished”.

Hours earlier, Israel claimed it killed a senior commander of Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, in a strike in Beirut. The operation was in response to Hezbollah’s slaying of 12 juveniles, aged 10 to 20, with a rocket on a football field in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The Israeli military issued no comment. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi posted, “Yes, all your enemies will perish, O God”, later deleting the tweet. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli chided:

EA on International Media: Golan Heights Killings Raise Prospect of Israel-Hezbollah War

Iran’s State National Security Council met at the Supreme Leader’s residence early Wednesday to discuss its position over Haniyeh’s killing. Sources told Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times that Iranian officials are in “utter shock” because the assassination “delivers a huge blow to Iran’s security reputation at a time it wants to project power in the region”.

Fars, the outlet of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, acknowledged that Haniyeh “was staying in one of the special residences for war veterans in north Tehran”.

Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas, the leader in the West Bank, denounced a “cowardly act and dangerous development”, as Palestinian and Islamic groups called for a general strike and mass demonstrations.

Russia criticized the “completely unacceptable political killing”. Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said this week that he would intervene in Israel on behalf of Palestinians, said of the “heinous” attack:

The attack shows the Netanyahu Government has no intention of achieving peace.

This assassination aims to spread the war in Gaza to a regional level.

Yemen’s Houthi faction, allied with Iran, said the “heinous terrorist crime” was “a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values”.

Deaths of a Hamas Leader and a Hezbollah Commandeer

Named as Hamas’ political head in 2017, Haniyeh went into exile in Qatar.

Hamas’ mass killing of up to 1,200 people in Israel, including several hundred civilians, and its abduction of 251 others on October 7 — and its subsequent defense against Israeli military operations which have killed almost 40,000 Gazans — has been overseen by military commanders. Meanwhile, Haniyeh has shuttled between Turkey, Iran, and Qatar amid political discussions.

In April, an Israeli airstrike killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren. He urged Palestinians to remain “steadfast”, and said his personal loss would not pressure Hamas to shift its position over Israel’s military operations.

In Lebanon, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib condemned the strike on Tuesday in Beirut. He said Israel’s allies had assured that the response to the Golan Heights killing would be “limited” and “not produce a war”.

“We thought these were red lines that the Israelis would respect,” the Foreign Minister said.