Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, group says

Prime Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Iran, the group has mentioned.

In an announcement launched on Wednesday, Hamas mentioned Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli raid on his residence in Tehran.

Quite a lot of different senior Hamas figures, together with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have described Haniyeh’s dying as an “assassination” and vowed to retaliate.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps mentioned the reason for the “incident” was not instantly clear however was “being investigated”, AFP information company reported.

In response to the group, Haniyeh died after taking part within the inauguration ceremony of the brand new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian who was sworn in on Tuesday.

Hamas, the Palestinian group controlling Gaza, mentioned Haniyeh was “killed in a treacherous Zionist raid”.

The group’s political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk mentioned it was a “cowardly act” and one which “won’t go unanswered”; whereas one other senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, mentioned the group will “proceed on its path”.

“This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that goals to interrupt the need of Hamas and the need of our individuals and obtain pretend objectives,” Sami Abu Zuhri advised Reuters information company.

Israel is but to reply or concern an announcement.

Haniyeh, 62, was extensively thought of Hamas’s total chief.

He was a outstanding member of the group’s motion within the late Eighties and was imprisoned by Israel for 3 years in 1989 because it cracked down on the primary Palestinian rebellion.

He was then exiled in 1992 to a no-man’s-land between Israel and Lebanon, together with plenty of Hamas leaders.

Haniyeh was appointed Palestinian prime minister in 2006 by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas gained probably the most seats in nationwide elections, however he was dismissed a yr later after the group ousted Mr Abbas’ Fatah celebration from the Gaza Strip in every week of lethal violence.

Haniyeh rejected his sacking as “unconstitutional”, stressing that his authorities “wouldn’t abandon its nationwide duties in direction of the Palestinian individuals”, and continued to rule in Gaza.

He was elected head of Hamas’s political bureau in 2017.

In 2018, the US Division of State designated Haniyeh a terrorist. He had lived in Qatar for the previous a number of years.