Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran early Wednesday, mere hours after confidently boasting about his safety in the Iranian capital. According to reports from the New York Post, Haniyeh’s assassination came amid his high-profile visit for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, where he was also granted an audience with Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, Haniyeh was seen in footage discussing the perceived threats to his life while walking through Tehran. “Resistance means we are proud to walk the streets of civilised countries and travel from one nation to another,” Haniyeh declared in the footage.
Tragically, Haniyeh was killed at 2 am Wednesday in an attack at his Tehran residence, which also claimed the life of one of his bodyguards. Initial claims from Hamas pointed to an Israeli airstrike as the perpetrator, but later reports suggested that a bomb, smuggled into the guesthouse months prior, was used in the attack.
Haniyeh’s rise from a childhood in a refugee camp and imprisonment in Israel during the 1980s to a life of opulence in Qatar highlighted his significant role in the extremist Muslim world. His assassination occurred just after he had been seen cheering the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel from his luxury office in Qatar.
While Israel has yet to comment on the incident, both Hamas and Iran have accused the Jewish state of orchestrating the assassination.
Dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, Haniyeh was seen in footage discussing the perceived threats to his life while walking through Tehran. “Resistance means we are proud to walk the streets of civilised countries and travel from one nation to another,” Haniyeh declared in the footage.
Tragically, Haniyeh was killed at 2 am Wednesday in an attack at his Tehran residence, which also claimed the life of one of his bodyguards. Initial claims from Hamas pointed to an Israeli airstrike as the perpetrator, but later reports suggested that a bomb, smuggled into the guesthouse months prior, was used in the attack.
Haniyeh’s rise from a childhood in a refugee camp and imprisonment in Israel during the 1980s to a life of opulence in Qatar highlighted his significant role in the extremist Muslim world. His assassination occurred just after he had been seen cheering the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel from his luxury office in Qatar.
While Israel has yet to comment on the incident, both Hamas and Iran have accused the Jewish state of orchestrating the assassination.
Source : Times of India
