CNN – Palestinians in Gaza have expressed grief and anger over the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
“Ismail Haniyeh is the son of Gaza. He represents my entire people,” said Ahmad Al Nims, in an interview with a CNN stringer in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
Gazan Abu Yasser Hassoun said the assassination had struck “like a thunderbolt” and described Haniyeh as a leader who united Palestinians.
Political analyst Amjad Al Shawwa called the assassination of “one of the most important Palestinian leaders” a “crime in every sense of the word.”
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the assassination … READ MORE.
“While Hamas’ Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to have been the mastermind of the attacks, Haniyeh, head of the group’s political bureau, lauded them as a humiliating blow to Israel’s aura of invincibility.” – ABC NEWS
Ismail Haniyeh, a Top Hamas Leader, Is Dead at 62
By Ephrat Livni and Raja Abdulrahim, July 31, 2024
THE NEW YORK TIMES – Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader who led the Palestinian militant group’s political office from Doha, Qatar, was killed while visiting Iran on Wednesday. He was 62.
Mr. Haniyeh, originally from the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, had long played a central role in Hamas, helping lead the group through multiple wars with Israel and through elections.
More recently, he managed high-stakes negotiations and diplomacy for Hamas, including the continuing indirect cease-fire talks with Israel to end the war in Gaza, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
He survived an assassination attempt in 2003, when Israel targeted him and his mentor, the spiritual leader and founder of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin. The Israeli military assassinated Mr. Yassin the next year.
“We came to say, the Quran is our constitution, we are committed to God and his holy book. God willing, should they try to carry out their crime against the Quran, God will tear their state apart and they will become God’s lesson to anyone who tries to desecrate the holy book.” – Ismail Haniyeh
“You don’t have to cry,” Mr. Haniyeh told a crowd gathered outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City at the time. “You have to be steadfast, and you have to be ready for revenge.”
Mr. Haniyeh was killed on Wednesday in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
He was there along with other senior members of Iran’s “axis of resistance” — allied forces that include Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen …
