Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian terror group said on Wednesday, describing the strike as a “severe escalation” that would not achieve its goals.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, and said it was investigating.
In a statement carried by Iranian media, Pezeshkian said Iran would “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”
It was the second high-profile assassination attributed to Israel in a matter of hours, coming after an airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military leader. There was no immediate comment on the Tehran strike from Israeli authorities.
Israel had vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas after the Gaza-based terror group’s devastating October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, and said it was investigating.
In a statement carried by Iranian media, Pezeshkian said Iran would “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”
It was the second high-profile assassination attributed to Israel in a matter of hours, coming after an airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military leader. There was no immediate comment on the Tehran strike from Israeli authorities.
Israel had vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas after the Gaza-based terror group’s devastating October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Ismail Hania, the head of Hamas's political wing, was martyred in Iran.
00:05Hamas has declared Israel responsible for the attack.
00:08After the attack, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei...
00:11...called a national security council meeting.
00:14Ismail Hania's funeral will be held in Tehran tomorrow.
00:18He will be buried in Qatar on Friday.
00:30Ismail Hania, the head of Hamas's political wing, was martyred in Iran.
00:40Ismail Hania's residence in Tehran's military headquarters...
00:43...was hit by a missile.
00:51Ismail Hania and his bodyguard Abu Shaban...
00:54...were martyred in the attack at 2 a.m.
00:57Some revolutionaries say the missile was fired from another country.
01:01More investigations are being carried out.
01:07Ismail Hania was in Tehran for a meeting...
01:10...with Iranian President Massoud Rajavi.
01:13Hamas has declared Israel responsible for the attack.
01:17Ismail Hania, the head of Hamas's political wing...
01:20...was martyred in Tehran.
01:23Ismail Hania was declared a martyr in Lebanon and Palestine's mosques.
01:31Palestinians wept when they heard the news of his martyrdom.
01:35An elderly woman posted a picture of Ismail Hania...
01:38...as a symbol of Jihad al-Azhar.
01:40The market was empty on the western side.
01:43Shops were locked.
01:48Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei...
01:51...called a meeting of the National Security Council.
01:54Revolutionary leaders were present.
01:57Three fasts were announced in Tehran.
02:00Ismail Hania's funeral will be held in Tehran...
02:03...on Friday night.
02:06On Friday, he will be taken to Doha.