A Hamas official stated, “The cowardly act will not go unpunished.” Meanwhile, IDF officials declined to comment on the incident. The Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran, the capital of Iran, where he had traveled for the inauguration of the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, yesterday, Tuesday, announced the Palestinian Islamic movement in the early hours.

They referred to a “sneaky Zionist raid.” IDF officials stated to international media that they would not comment on Haniyeh’s death. “The brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, was killed in a sneaky Zionist raid on his office in Tehran after attending the inauguration of the new president of the Islamic Republic,” Hamas stated. Musa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, spoke of Israel’s “cowardly act,” which “will not go unpunished,” according to the Al-Aqsa TV network affiliated with the movement. Sami Abu Zuhri, another Hamas official, described the murder to Reuters as a very serious escalation from the Israeli side, assuring that it would not achieve its goals.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah, strongly condemned the “cowardly murder” of the leader of Hamas, a rival of Fatah, in a press release. Iranian authorities are investigating Haniyeh’s assassination, and findings will be announced shortly, according to the state news agency Tasnim. It is worth noting that in April, Hamas announced that Haniyeh’s three sons and four grandchildren were killed in an airstrike on the Saty refugee camp in Gaza City, where relatives were visiting on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr celebration, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “I thank God for the honor of witnessing the martyrdom of my three sons and some of my grandchildren,” said Mr. Haniyeh, who is based in Doha, on the Al Jazeera network of Qatar. “The enemy targeted the vehicle they were traveling in.” “The enemy thinks it can break our people’s will and push leaders to make concessions… It may dream! The blood shed will make us even more steadfast,” added the Hamas leader.

“Our demands are clear, and we will not abandon them. If the enemy believes that by targeting our sons at the height of negotiations, before Hamas gives its answer, it will force the movement to change its position, it is mistaken.” Ismail Haniyeh, elected head of the Hamas political office in 2017, lived between Qatar and Turkey.