Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran to watch the swearing-in of the new Iranian president (Picture: AP)
The political leader of Hamas has been killed in an airstrike on his home in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Ismail Haniyeh’s death was confirmed by the Palestinian militant group, which said Israel was behind the attack.
Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah who was in the same building, was also killed according to the Israeli military.
More than 30 members of Haniyeh’s family, including his sister, brother and several children and grandchildren, have been killed in strikes since Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel last October.
But there are concerns the death of the leader himself will further escalate the conflict.
A spokesman for the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh died ‘in a Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran’, where he was attending the swearing-in of Iran’s new president Masoud Pazeshkian.
It continued: ‘Hamas declares to the great Palestinian people and the people of the Arab and Islamic nations and all the free people of the world, brother leader Ismail Haniyeh a martyr.’
Haniyeh, right, at the swearing-in ceremony yesterday (Picture: Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is internationally recognised, described the killing as a ‘cowardly act and dangerous development’.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said wider war in the Middle East is not ‘inevitable’, adding: ‘I think there’s always room and opportunities for diplomacy.’
Almost 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas last year, while around 250 others were taken hostage – some of whom still have not returned home.
In response, Israel vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders in the group.
Now that aim has been realised, it appears likely that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza will be put on hold.
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