Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran. The group governing Gaza released a statement attributing his death to an Israeli strike.
Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence was struck. The attack occurred while Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns our great Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and all free people of the world. Brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, head of the movement, was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” Hamas announced on Wednesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also confirmed Haniyeh’s death. They reported that an attack early Wednesday morning on Haniyeh’s residence resulted in his and his bodyguard’s martyrdom. The IRGC is investigating the incident and will release more information soon.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
In response to the assassination, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified that the United States was neither aware of nor involved in the attack. “This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” Blinken stated during an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore.
This assassination has sent shockwaves through the region, and further details are awaited as the investigation progresses.
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