Updated August 1, 2024 at 3:20 AM
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned Israel’s killing of its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in an airstrike in Iran on Wednesday, calling his dying a “harmful occasion” with repercussions throughout the Middle East. Haniyeh had been in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Israeli officers stated that they had “no remark” when requested concerning the Tehran assault and denied accountability, however had beforehand vowed to kill Haniyeh and different Hamas leaders after the militant group led a shock assault on October 7 that killed greater than 1,200 folks in Israel and led to the present Gaza battle.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated the United States had no data of or involvement within the killing.
“This is one thing we did not learn about or weren’t concerned in. It’s very tough to invest on,” Blinken stated in an interview with Channel News Asia throughout a go to to Singapore.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby informed reporters in Washington that the White House had not independently verified and couldn’t affirm reviews that Israel had killed Haniyeh in Tehran, as claimed by Hamas.
Haniyeh’s killing dangers elevating tensions throughout the Middle East and comes simply hours after Israel stated it had killed a prime commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in an airstrike within the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
“Difficult days lie forward,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed Israelis in a speech on Wednesday, including that Israel was ready for any risk or situation.
Iran’s president referred to as Haniyeh’s killing a “despicable act” and stated Iran would defend its territorial integrity. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an announcement about X, stated the assassination could be meted out “extreme punishment.”
Qatar’s overseas ministry condemned Haniyeh’s dying and stated it marked a “harmful escalation” within the battle. Qatar has hosted Haniyeh for a few years underneath a U.S.-backed deal, and the Gulf Arab state has been a key middleman in efforts to safe a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani stated after Haniya’s killing that political assassinations and continued assaults on Palestinian civilians within the Gaza Strip have been undermining mediation efforts with “one facet assassinating the opposite’s negotiators.”
Hamas stated two funerals could be held for Haniyeh, the primary in Tehran on Thursday and the second in Doha, Qatar, on Friday, with the funeral and burial going down.
New obstacles to ceasefire prospects
Haniyeh’s dying might additionally disrupt ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. He was Hamas’s foremost liaison within the talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar.
Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chairman of Hamas within the Gaza Strip, urged talks would stall after the killing, saying at a press convention in Gaza that “there is no such thing as a discuss of negotiations within the shadow of bloodshed.” But he careworn that Hamas’ negotiating targets had not modified, saying: “Hamas has a transparent path for negotiations and the absence of a frontrunner is not going to trigger the motion’s agenda to deviate from these targets.”
Netanyahu stated Wednesday that Israelis have referred to as for an finish to the struggle for months. “I didn’t succumb to these calls then, and I can’t succumb to them immediately,” he stated.
But a ceasefire is of main concern to Palestinians and the households of hostages, particularly within the Gaza Strip, the place greater than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in practically 11 months of struggle, together with at the very least 45 killed on Wednesday alone, in accordance with the Gaza Strip Health Ministry.
There are 115 hostages remaining in Gaza, greater than 40 of whom are believed to be lifeless. “Time is of the essence and we name on the Israeli authorities and world leaders to press forward with negotiations. The time for a deal is now,” a gaggle representing the hostages’ households stated in an announcement on Wednesday.
Rachel Goldberg Pollin, whose 23-year-old son, Hirsch, is being held captive in Gaza, stated she was nervous when she heard the information of Haniya’s killing.
“We thought this is likely to be dangerous as a result of we have been hopeful that these negotiations would get our area to a greater place,” Goldberg-Polin informed NPR from Jerusalem, “as a result of there will not be solely the 115 hostage households, however a whole lot of 1000’s of harmless folks in Gaza who’re struggling terribly. So our entire area is overburdened with this destruction and distress, and something that may delay it, you recognize, could be painful for us.”
Several airways droop flights to Tel Aviv
United Airlines and Delta Airlines introduced they’d droop flights to Israel beginning Wednesday night amid rising tensions within the area. In an announcement to NPR, a United Airlines spokesperson confirmed that the airline had suspended its day by day flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Tel Aviv for “safety causes” because it screens the state of affairs.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines stated it will droop service between New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Tel Aviv till at the very least Friday. The airline stated it will subject journey waivers to all clients with tickets booked to or from Tel Aviv by way of Aug. 14.
The U.S. State Department additionally issued a brand new journey advisory on Wednesday urging folks to rethink touring to Israel, notably the northern a part of the nation inside 2.5 miles of the border with Lebanon and Syria.
Palestinian response to Haniya’s dying
Palestinians within the Gaza Strip stated they have been shocked to listen to the announcement.
“This was probably the most painful information I’ve ever obtained in my 70 years of life,” Umm Yousuf stated as she sat on the entrance to a shelter within the southern Gaza metropolis of Zuweida, after listening to the information of Haniyah’s dying on a cell phone radio channel.
“[Haniyeh] He was a dove of peace… He was a mature man, he cherished everybody… and he labored for the good thing about all Palestinians.”
Ismail al-Talwai, a Gaza resident who has taken refuge in Zuweida, stated Haniyah’s dying had “crossed the road”.
“[Haniyeh] He was open to any peaceable negotiations aimed toward resolving the variations between the 2 international locations. [Israel] They have succeeded in reducing off all avenues for peace.”
Bahaa Zayt, a resident of Ramallah, the West Bank’s largest metropolis, stated she was saddened by the information however shocked that Iran couldn’t have accomplished extra to guard Haniya.
“How might Israel penetrate Iranian airspace and safety and have its personal visitor assassinated?” Zait stated.
Hamas chief Sami Abu Zuhri informed Al-Aqsa TV that Israel can not break the desire of the Palestinian folks and that Hamas is an ideology that won’t go away.
“These occupying forces should notice that they’ve fired at themselves, not at Ismail Haniyeh,” Abu Zuhri stated. “With each drop of blood shed for the liberty of this pure land, Hamas grows. The blood of our leaders is not any purer than the blood of our brothers and sisters.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin referred to as for calm, saying he anticipated Israel to discover a diplomatic resolution regardless of the occasions of the previous 24 hours.
“I do not imagine struggle is inevitable,” Austin stated, “and I stay of that view. I feel there’s at all times room and alternatives for diplomacy, and I’d prefer to see the events concerned pursue these alternatives.”
Israel confirms senior Hezbollah commander killed in separate airstrike
Haniyeh’s dying got here simply hours after Israel introduced it had killed Hezbollah’s prime commander, Fouad Shukr “Sayyed Mohsan,” in an airstrike within the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in retaliation for a rocket assault on Majdal Shams within the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 youngsters.
Hezbollah, like Hamas, is backed by Iran.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the assault. The Lebanese militia and political group has denied any involvement.
Hezbollah stated in an announcement on Wednesday that Shukr was contained in the constructing on the time of the assault however didn’t affirm his dying. Israel has not stated the way it decided the Hezbollah commander was killed or offered any proof of his dying.
Who is Ismail Haniyeh?
Haniyeh, 62, grew up in Gaza and was imprisoned in Israel throughout the first Palestinian rebellion within the Nineteen Eighties.
Haniyeh was Hamas’ prime chief in Gaza when the group seized management of the area in 2007 and rose to turn out to be the group’s prime chief in 2017. The US State Department formally designated him a terrorist in 2018. In current years he had been primarily based in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
During his tenure, Hamas and Israel fought 5 wars, together with the present battle. Several of his sons and his sister have been killed in Israeli assaults on Gaza this 12 months.
It is unclear how a lot data Haniyeh, who relies in Qatar, had about Hamas’ plans to assault Israel from Gaza on October 7, however he was concerned in high-level negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage and prisoner alternate with Israel.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor introduced in May that he was looking for arrest warrants for Haniyeh and two different senior Hamas officers on struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity expenses for alleged rape, homicide and hostage-taking throughout the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7. The prosecutor can be looking for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s protection minister.
Of Hamas’s prime 4 leaders, solely Yahya Sinwar, its chief in Gaza, should still be alive.
In January, Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Lebanon in a suspected Israeli assault.
Earlier this month, Israel stated it had killed Mohammed Deif, the top of Hamas’ army wing within the Gaza Strip, in an airstrike that additionally killed plenty of Palestinians, however his destiny stays unknown. Hamas has not commented on whether or not he’s lifeless or alive.
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