The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, was killed in Tehran, the capital of Iran, where he had gone for the inauguration of the country's new president, Massoud Pezheskian, yesterday Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamist movement announced in the early hours of the morning, speaking of "treacherous Zionist invasion".
"The brother, the leader, the mujahid Ismail Haniya, the leader of the movement, was killed in a sneaky Zionist raid against his office in Tehran after he attended the inauguration of the new president" of the Islamic Republic, Hamas said.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, spoke of "cowardly action" by Israel, which "will not go unpunished", reports the Al-Aqsa television network, close to the movement. Sami Abu Zohri, another Hamas official, speaking to the Reuters news agency, described the killing as a very serious escalation on the part of Israel, which assured that it would not achieve its goals.
The news of Haniya's death was also released by the Revolutionary Guards - an elite body of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic - pointing out that along with Haniya, his bodyguard was also killed.
Iranian authorities are investigating Haniya's murder and the findings will be announced very soon, the state-run Tasnim news agency reported.
It is recalled that last April Hamas had announced that three sons and four grandsons of Haniya were killed in an airstrike in the Shati refugee camp, in the city of Gaza (north), where they were visiting relatives, on the first day of the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the completion of the holy month of Ramadan.
"I thank God for the honor of witnessing my three sons and some of my grandchildren," Doha-based Mr Haniya told Qatar's Al Jazeera television. "The enemy targeted a vehicle they were riding in."
"I think the enemy can break the will of our people and push the leaders to make concessions (...) He can dream! The blood shed will make us even more unyielding," the Hamas leader added. "Our demands are clear and we will not abandon them. If the enemy thinks that targeting our son at the height of the negotiations, and before Hamas gives its answer, will push the movement to change its position, it is delusional."
Ismail Haniya, who was elected head of the Hamas politburo in 2017, lived between Qatar and Turkey.
Source: protothema.gr