By Farrukh Abadi
The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in a missile strike on his residence in Tehran on Wednesday. The attack came hours after he attended the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran, as well as Hamas and other resistance organizations, accused Israel for the attack, along with accusing the US given its high technical ability. Neither the US nor Israel have claimed responsibility yet, though politicians from both countries have praised the attack and the Israeli Government Press Office briefly posted a picture of Haniyeh with the word “eliminated” over his face before taking it down.
Haniyeh, who was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City, joined Hamas in the 1980s during the First Intifada. He was one of the architects of the heroic October 7 Operation al-Aqsa Flood, and has played a leading role in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel. He built political support for Hamas and Palestinian resistance internationally and organized efforts to unite various Palestinian groups to establish a coalition government in Gaza.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera following the assassination, Haniyeh’s oldest son called on Palestinian leaders to “move toward national unity for all our people,” stressing to continue this aspect of his father’s work.
Hamas released a statement honoring Haniyeh’s life: “Commander Ismail Haniyeh dedicated his life to his religion, his cause, and his homeland. He lived as a militant, a skilled politician, a vibrant and active unionist, was imprisoned in the occupation’s prisons, and moved from place to place. All this did not deter him for a moment from continuing on the path of serving his homeland, his cause, and his nation.”
Numerous Palestinian resistance factions have called for a general strike and “anger demonstrations” in the West Bank as a result of the assassination, and a number of resistance organizations issued statements of solidarity with Hamas and condemnation of Israeli terrorism. Also in the West Bank, Al Qassam Brigades stated that they “carried out two shooting operations in Hebron in response to the assassination of Haniyeh”.
Israel’s assassination of a lead negotiator and violating Iranian airspace has brought condemnation from countries around the world. A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry stated: “Haniyeh’s martyrdom will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine and the Resistance” and the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades said that “The assassination of… Haniyeh reflects the enemy’s inability to confront the resistance on the battlefield”.
Iran has also promised a “harsh punishment” for the attack. Iran has previously vowed to escalate its attacks against Israel tit for tat after the two countries traded military strikes in April following an Israeli assassination of top Iranian military officials at an Iranian consulate in Syria—in response, Iran directly attacked Israel for the first time.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that “if Israel is attacked, we will help defend it,” offering military and diplomatic cover for the Zionist crimes.
The assassination of Haniyeh is a continuation of the US-Israel policy of assassinations as an attempt to contain the Palestinian resistance, a failed policy that has proven to only increase the tenacity and determination of the movement that is grounded in the Palestinian people and international popular support. Monopoly media and imperialist-aligned politicians have tried to portray the murder as a “significant blow” to Hamas and Palestinian resistance, though this belies their own desperate situation and runs counter to the results of previous high-profile assassinations. Earlier this year in January, Israel assassinated top Hamas political and military leader Saleh al-Arouri; since then, popularity for Hamas has increased and resistance continues to grow in numbers and increase the quality of its actions. After al-Arouri’s death, Haniyeh commented that his martyrdom makes the organization “stronger and more determined than ever.” The same has already proven true of Haniyeh’s martyrdom.
The day before Haniyeh’s assassination, Israel conducted air strikes on the Lebanese capital of Beirut after accusing Hezbollah of killing a dozen Syrian children and teenagers in the occupied Golan heights. Hezbollah has denied this claim and called for a UN investigation, as evidence points to Israeli responsibility and the possibility of a false flag operation to justify escalation against Lebanon. The airstrike martyred Hezbollah leader Sayyed Fouad Shukr in addition to murdering 3 civilians and injuring 74 others. Hezbollah media site al-Manar has promised that “a new era of retribution will not be lost, which the zionist will experience in the hell of regret for his actions”.
featured image: Haniyeh speaks in an undated photograph from Palestine Chronicle
