The Hamas announced the assassination of its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran during the early hours of the morning.
The Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh’s death just hours after he attended the swearing-in ceremony for Iran’s new president.
This turn of events has renewed fears of a wider escalation in the region already, battered by the war in Gaza and the worsening situation in Lebanon.
Israel did not provide a comment yet.
This comes less than twenty-four hours after Israel said it had killed the head of Hezbollah responsible for a deadly attack in the Golan Heights.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, denounced Haniyeh’s murder, and groups within the occupied West Bank called for a strike and large-scale protests.
Haniyeh, despite being normally based in Qatar, has been representing the Palestinian group in international diplomacy during the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel killed three of his sons in an airstrike.
