Who was Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, killed in an Israeli attack in Iran?

A prominent Palestinian political figure, Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran at the inauguration of Iran's new president and met with Iran's Supreme Leader

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in an attack on his Tehran residence on Wednesday morning (July 31), as confirmed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The incident followed Haniyeh's attendance at the inauguration of Iran's new president and his meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader on Tuesday.

The Islamist group has blamed Israel and claimed that Haniyeh was killed in a "treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran." The group said an investigation is ongoing to find out more details about the attack.

According to a statement on the IRGC's Sepah news website, "The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, was hit in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred."

 

Attack on Israel killed 12 children
 

Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony came amid concerns of war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah following a rocket attack on the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. Israel has accused Hezbollah of responsibility for the attack that killed 12 children.

Later on Tuesday, Israel struck Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut in retaliation for the Golan strike, saying it had killed the commander responsible for the attack.

Israel had vowed to kill Ismail Haniyeh and destroy the Hamas group after an October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people and wounded over 91,000, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Who was Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh?
 

Ismail Haniyeh was a prominent Palestinian political figure who played a key role in Middle East politics. Born in 1963 in Gaza's Shati refugee camp, Haniyeh attended United Nations-run schools and graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza with a degree in Arabic literature in 1987. While at university, he became involved with Hamas.

Haniyeh participated in protests during the First Intifada and was imprisoned by an Israeli military court. Following his release, Israeli military authorities deported him to Lebanon along with senior Hamas leaders Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, Mahmoud Zahhar, Aziz Duwaik, and 400 other activists.

In 1997, Haniyeh was appointed to lead the Hamas office after Israel released Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas. In December 2005, Haniyeh was elected to lead the Hamas list, which won the Legislative Council elections the following month.

Following Hamas's victory in the 2006 legislative election, Haniyeh became the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority government. However, in 2007, he was dismissed from his position by President Mahmoud Abbas, further intensifying the political conflict between Fatah and Hamas.

During the Fatah-Hamas conflict, Haniyeh was denied entry to Gaza from Egypt at the Rafah Border Crossing while returning from his first official trip abroad as prime minister in 2006. When he tried to cross the border later, an exchange of gunfire left Haniyeh's eldest son wounded and a bodyguard dead.

In 2016, Haniyeh succeeded Khaled Mashaal as the head of Hamas in elections.

Despite his strong public statements, many diplomats considered Haniyeh to be a more moderate figure compared to the hardline members of the Iran-backed group within Gaza.

After being appointed to the top position in Hamas in 2017, Haniyeh travelled between Turkey and Doha, the capital of Qatar. This allowed him to bypass the travel restrictions imposed on the blockaded Gaza Strip, participate in ceasefire negotiations, and maintain communication with Hamas' ally, Iran.

On April 10 this year, an Israeli airstrike targeted the car carrying three of Haniyeh's sons - Hazem, Amir, and Mohammad - resulting in their deaths. According to Hamas, Haniyeh also lost four grandchildren in the attack, including three girls and a boy.