TEHRAN: Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in an attack in Iran’s capital, Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday, Press TV reported.
In a statement to Meher News Agency the IRGC said that Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Tehran.
“With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred”, the statement read.
On Tuesday, Iran’s supreme leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei held a meeting with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. Khamenei took to social media platform X to share pictures of his meeting with Haniyeh.
In a post on X, Khamenei’s office stated, “Imam Khamenei met with Ismail Haniyah, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement”.
M. Ismail Haniyah, chef du bureau politique du Hamas, et M. Ziyad al-Nakhalah, secrétaire général du Jihad islamique palestinien, ont rencontré l’imam Khamenei le mardi 30 juillet 2024. pic.twitter.com/rGefD5Hy0I
— Ayatollah Khamenei (@fr_Khamenei) July 30, 2024
In its reply to the post, the Israel Defence Forces posted, “Did someone ask for a photo-op of Iran and the leaders of their proxies? Iran’s Khamenei met with Hamas’ Ismail Haniyah and the Islamic Jihad’s Ziyad-al Nakhalah — two of the terrorist organisations who have been attempting to kill Israelis using weapons made and funded by Iran. We can only assume the topics of conversation included how to spend more Iranian money to kill Israelis while wishing Hezbollah’s Nasrallah could join them”.
Ismail Haniyeh who was based in Qatar, was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a Press TV report.
In April, three sons of Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an air strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed. The three sons of the Hamas leader, who were confirmed dead by the Israeli forces, were identified as Amir Haniyeh, a cell commander in the Hamas military wind and Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh.
In a post on X, IDF on April 10 stated, “IAF aircraft struck Amir Haniyeh, a cell commander in the Hamas military wing, and Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh, both Hamas military operatives, in central Gaza…. The IDF confirms that the 3 operatives are the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’ political bureau”.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence forces also announced that they had eliminated Fuad Shukr ‘Sayyid Muhsan’, Hezbollah’s most senior military commander. According to the IDF, Shukr was Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah’s right-hand man and directed Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
IDF said he was responsible for the killing of 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel earlier, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years. The IDF said Shukr was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs. (ANI)