Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Israeli airstrike…
Hamas‘ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, died in an Israeli strike on his home in Tehran early Wednesday, the group announced.
Haniyeh was killed after he attended the inauguration ceremony for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Hamas said in a statement.
Haniyeh “died as a result of a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” it said in a statement on Telegram.
The hunt for Hamas’ leadership has been ongoing for months, and in April, three of Haniyeh’s sons were killed in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
Iranian state news agency IRNA also reported his death, without giving any further details. Israeli officials did not comment on the reports.
The chief of Israeli’s Mossad intelligence agency vowed to kill Haniyeh after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks killed 1,200 people and resulted in the kidnappings of 250.
His sons were among the most high-profile figures to have been killed during the war triggered by Oct. 7’s attacks, which led to a war that has killed 40,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, and destroyed much of the enclave. Haniyeh had then vowed that Hamas would not cave under Israeli pressure.
The strike came after the Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah leader, Fuad Shukr, in a strike Tuesday on a suburb in southern Beirut, known to be the home of Hezbollah’s headquarters. The strike, it said, was against the commander responsible for the deadly attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 people last week.
On the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the group is “waging an open war to liberate Jerusalem and are ready to pay various prices.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.