The Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in the early hours of Wednesday morning while boasting about the security of his life in Tehran. According to a report by the New York post, Haniyeh’s murder happened during his high-profile visit for the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian where he also met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Haniyeh, dressed in white shirt and black jacket is seen walking through Tehran on footage discussing threats to his life. In one scene, Haniyeh is filmed while saying: “Resistance means we are proud to walk the streets of civilised countries and travel from one nation to another”.
In a tragic turn of events at 2 am on Wednesday morning this week, an attack occurred at his residence in Tehran killing Haniyeh with one bodyguard also losing his life. While initial claims by Hamas suggested that an Israeli airstrike had targeted him, later reports hinted that a bomb which had been smuggled into the guesthouse months prior was used in executing him.
Haniyeh’s luxurious lifestyle in Qatar became emblematic of his important place within radical Muslim circles after growing up as a refugee child living under terrible conditions who had been imprisoned by Israelis during the 1980s. Just before being killed he was shown exulting over October 7th’s Hamas’ attack on Israel from opulent offices situated in Doha.
Israel has not yet commented on the issue but both Hamas and Iran have blamed it for arranging this assassination.
