Fears of a wider regional conflagration are created by the assassination of the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, in Tehran, the capital of Iran, where he had gone for the inauguration of the new president of the country, Massoud Pezeskian.
Hamas called it a "sneaky Zionist raid against him" in which one of his bodyguards was also killed. However, little is currently known about the exact circumstances of the killing blow.
All eyes inevitably fall on Israel, which has vowed to hunt down and punish all Hamas leaders after the deadly October 7 attacks. During which 1.200 people were killed, while 251 were victims of hostages.
Israel did not comment on the news of Haniya's death. However, it was the second high-profile assassination attributed to Israel in a matter of hours, following an airstrike in Beirut that reportedly killed Hezbollah's top military leader, Fouad Shukr.
According to Iranian state media, the strike against Haniya took place at about 2:00 a.m. Wednesday at a shelter for war veterans north of Tehran, where Haniya was staying during his stay for Massoud Pezeskian's inauguration.
Initial indications are that he and his bodyguard were killed when a rocket hit their residence. In this operation, Israeli aircraft are believed to have fired rockets outside Iranian airspace.
Iran's state news agency IRNA said Haniya was hit by an "air-guided missile". The murder, however, is being investigated and the results will be announced later today, according to a statement from the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Clouds of revenge
Ismail Haniya led the political operations of Hamas while living in exile in Qatar, while he is considered the most pivotal person from the Palestinian side for the promotion of negotiations with Israel, as well as the exchange of hostages. In this context, his absence from the negotiating table, as well as his sudden death, according to some analysts, reset the counter at the level of talks between the two sides, at a time when the atmosphere inside Hamas is extremely charged.
But primarily, the killing of Ismail Haniya comes hours after Israel struck Beirut, killing Muhsin Shukr, known as Fouad Shukr, the head of Hezbollah's operational arm, in retaliation for the rocket attack on the occupied territories. from Israel's Golan Heights over the weekend that killed 12 people, including children.
In this light, the elimination of the physical leadership of the two organizations within 24 hours by the Israelis "raises fears of further conflict in the region" according to international news networks, leaving open the possibility of other groups also being involved in the bilateral conflict. Especially when the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is escalating, causing concern that the existing conflict could escalate into a regional war, while the Israeli-Hamas fighting rages in Gaza, with its population living in conditions of a humanitarian crisis.
It should be noted that the Israeli side has pledged to "destroy" senior members of the Hamas leadership, following the October 7 raid near the Israel-Gaza border, which left 1.200 dead.
Political "short circuit"
At the same time, for the international community, Haniya's assassination deprives the Palestinian delegation of an important interlocutor, as Haniya was in charge of the political operations of the organization, being in Qatar. Rushing from there, he was a key interlocutor both with the mediators from the Doha side, and with the Egyptian delegation, with the request for the release of the hostages, but also for a ceasefire in Gaza.
For this reason, it is almost a foregone conclusion that his assassination will "freeze" time in relation to these two issues, at a time when Hamas declares that it is "ready to pay various prices" in retaliation for the loss of its leader.
According to information, the White House is also aware of the Haniya assassination, refusing to immediately comment further on the above development, while the Israeli side also admits that the loss of Haniya will "have a significant influence" on the ongoing negotiations, even if for the Israelis he was one of the main perpetrators of the October 7 attack.
According to CNN, "The death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya is the first major Israeli operation since October 7," although last April Israeli airstrikes resulted in the loss of three of his sons and four of his grandchildren. However, "anyone who thinks that targeting my children during negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed that they will force Hamas to give in to their demands is delusional," Haniya said at the time, with peace talks taking a back seat after the his loss.
On behalf of the Palestinian Authority, "the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, strongly condemned the assassination of the head of the Hamas movement, the great leader Ismail Haniya, and considered it a cowardly act and a dangerous development. His Eminence called upon the masses and the forces of our people to unite, be patient and steadfast against the Israeli occupation,” WAFA said.
