Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated tonight (between Tuesday and Wednesday) in Teheran, Iran. The terrorist organization officially announced his death and blamed Israel.
According to reports, Haniyeh was killed at around 2 a.m., a few hours after a fighter jet killed the senior Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr in the heart of Beirut.
The IDF has officially taken responsibility for the assassination of the top Hezbollah official but has been silent regarding the assassination of Haniyeh; the IDF spokesperson has stated that a security situation assessment is taking place this morning. "There are no changes in the home defense policy. If any change is decided upon, we will inform the public immediately," he said.
Hamas announced that Haniyeh was eliminated in an airstrike.
Shortly after the report on Iranian television about the assassination, Hamas issued a statement according to which "the Hamas movement mourns the members of our great Palestinian nation, the Arab and Islamic nation, and all free people in the world. The leader, the brother, the martyr, the warrior Ismail Haniyeh has died as a result of a treacherous Zionist attack at his residence in Tehran, after participating in the swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian president."
Haniyeh was in Tehran, in order to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the new president held yesterday. He met last night with the supreme leader Ali Khamenei together with the leader of the Islamic Jihad Ziad Nachala. According to reports, he was killed along with one of his companions - Wasim Abu Shaaban.
While Hamas directly blames Israel, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that "we are investigating the incident of Haniyeh's death and will announce the results of the investigation later." A member of the political bureau of Hamas, Musa Abu Marzouk said that "the assassination of commander Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act that will not go quietly."
