Thousands have gathered for the funeral procession in Iran of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a strike in Tehran on Wednesday. The somber event saw Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading the prayers for Haniyeh. Following the ceremony, Haniyeh’s body is set to be buried in Qatar.
The assassination has heightened tensions in the Middle East, with US media quoting Iranian officials who claim that Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered a direct attack against Israel, holding it responsible for the strike. Israel has not directly commented on the assassination.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his country had dealt “crushing blows” to its adversaries recently. This includes the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon just hours before the Tehran strike.
In a televised address, Netanyahu warned Israelis of “challenging days ahead,” as the threat of broader conflict looms.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned against a “dangerous escalation” of hostilities in the region. The military wing of Hamas declared that Haniyeh’s death would “take the battle to new dimensions” and significantly impact the ongoing conflict.
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Amid the funeral proceedings, Israel’s military announced it had confirmed the death of Hamas’s military chief, Mohammed Deif, in an air strike in the Gaza Strip last month. Deif was reportedly targeted in an attack on a compound in the Khan Younis area on July 13.
Hamas has yet to officially confirm his death. Israel has accused Deif of being a key figure behind the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people. In response to these attacks, Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas.
Haniyeh, who had been instrumental in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, was killed shortly after attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran.
According to a senior Hamas official, the assassination occurred in the same building where Haniyeh had stayed during previous visits to Iran. Three other Hamas leaders and several guards were present in the building at the time.
Khalil Al-Hayya, another senior Hamas official, reported in a news conference that a missile struck Haniyeh “directly,” based on eyewitness accounts.
Hours before the attack on Haniyeh, Israel announced the killing of senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Israel attributes Shukr with responsibility for a rocket attack that resulted in 12 deaths in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
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Hezbollah has denied involvement in this attack but confirmed that Shukr’s body was recovered from the rubble of the struck residential building. The strike also killed four others, including two children.
These events underscore the escalating violence and the increasing volatility in the region, with significant implications for the broader Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape.