Back on July 31st of this year, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was murdered at a guesthouse he was staying at Tehran, the capital of Iran where he had travelled for the inauguration of President Massoud Pezeshkian.
There had been conflicting reports on the nature of the attack—some suggested that he and his bodyguard were killed by an explosive device that was smuggled to the guesthouse two months prior to the assassination and some claimed it was a “short range projectile” fired at about 2am local time from the outside of the military guesthouse that he was murdered with.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had promised “harsh punishment” in retaliation for Haniyeh’s murder. It also infuriated Palestinians and heightened fears of a wider regional conflict. Although Israeli officials had not until now confirmed or denied their involvement, Iranian and Palestinian leaders blamed Israel for the assassination.
Israel has now publicly confirmed that earlier this year, its forces murdered the former Hamas political leader in Tehran. The assassination was revealed by Defence Minister Israel Katz, who also intended it as caution to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, indicating that their leadership might suffer similar consequences.
Throughout the conflict, the Iranian-backed Houthis have fired many drones and missiles towards Israel, including one that hit in Tel Aviv on Saturday and left at least 16 people injured. During the course of the dispute, Israel has launched three rounds of airstrikes in Yemen and has promised to increase the strain on the rebel group till their missile assaults cease.
Haniyeh was noted for his attempts at negotiation of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Alongside his colleagues as well as decades of Palestinian leaders and activists, the Hamas chief had long been targeted by Israel and had become a key figure in the Palestinian liberation struggle. Because of his high profile and Israel’s tendency of murdering Palestinian leaders, Haniyeh became the subject for assassination.
