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Photo:
Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Published by IMEMC News
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by IMEMC News
Aug 1, 2024

In a massive escalation against the Palestinian diplomatic effort and leadership, Israeli special forces on Wednesday assassinated the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, who had been leading the diplomatic effort on behalf of the Hamas political wing, in an extrajudicial assassination in Iran.

The Hamas movement announced on Wednesday morning the assassination of its political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The assassination was immediately condemned by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, other Arab leaders and the Arab League.

Haniyeh’s assassination came within 24 hours of the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in Beirut, Lebanon.

United Nations Security Council countries on Wednesday called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to avert a wider Middle East conflict after the killings of the two leaders massively stepped up tensions between Israel and Lebanon and Iran.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early on Wednesday, sparking threats of revenge against Israel and fueling concern the Gaza conflict was turning into a wider Middle East war. The assassination occurred less than 24 hours after Hwas killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Palestinian UN Ambassador Ambassador Feda Abdelhady stated, “We demand accountability for Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, as we have continually demanded accountability for the wanton murder and injury of over 130,000 Palestinian children, women and men across these past 300 days of horror and hell in Gaza and call for accountability for all of Israel’s criminal policies and practices in our territory across the decades.”

According to Sheharyar Mirza of the Middle East Eye, “The assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the highest level Hamas official killed since Israel’s war on Gaza broke out in October, was a dangerous escalation designed to draw Iran into a war, and with it, the US, analysts say.”

According to Israeli sources, Iran’s Leader ordered a direct attack on Israel in response to the invasion of their sovereignty to engage in an assassination in direct violation of international law. The Israeli action in Tehran is a clear act of war against Iran, which has so far stayed out of engaging directly with Israel despite the 299 day long Israeli assault on Gaza.

Since October, Ismail Haniyeh has been attempting a diplomatic resolution to end Israel’s assault on Gaza. He proposed Hamas laying down arms and accepting a two-state solution. Each time he proposed a ceasefire, Israeli forces – including his children, grandchildren and elderly sister.
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NY Times: Haniyeh was killed by bomb smuggled into Tehran guesthouse 2 months ago

US officials assess Israel behind assassination of Hamas chief, which Middle East sources say was months in planning; report says Israel briefed US, allies in immediate aftermath

By TOI STAFF
Today, 7:41 pm

The explosion that killed Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard early Wednesday was set off by a sophisticated, remote-controlled bomb smuggled about two months ago into the Hamas leader’s room at the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The report cited one American and seven Middle Eastern officials, including two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It contradicted earlier reports, including by the IRGC’s Tasnim news agency, that a missile had killed Haniyeh. It also cited officials from the United States and the Middle East as saying or assessing that Israel was behind the blast.

According to three Iranian officials cited by the Times, the assassination is a “tremendous embarrassment” for the IRGC, which runs the guesthouse where Haniyeh and other dignitaries were staying.

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Hamas military wing chief Deif killed in Gaza strike last month, IDF confirms

Military releases footage of July 13 airstrike on compound in Khan Younis, which also killed brigade commander Rafa’a Salameh

Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip last month, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Thursday.

The military said it obtained intelligence confirming his death on Thursday morning.

Deif, 58, who commanded the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades for over two decades, was long one of the terror figures most wanted by Israel.

By EMANUEL FABIAN for The Times Of Israel
(TOI)
Today, 12:51 pm

Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip last month, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Thursday.

The military said it obtained intelligence confirming his death on Thursday morning.

Deif, 58, who commanded the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades for over two decades, was long one of the terror figures most wanted by Israel.

He was an architect of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, when some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were dragged to Gaza as hostages.

Deif was targeted in a strike at a compound belonging to Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, between the al-Mawasi area and Khan Younis, on July 13.

A day later, Salameh’s death was confirmed by the military, but the IDF said it did not have final information regarding the status of Deif. Over the ensuing weeks, the military said it had received “increasing signs” that Deif was killed, but could not fully confirm his death.

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IDF Says Hezbollah Commander Behind Deadly Majdal Shams Attack Killed in Beirut Airstrike

Four people were killed in the strike and dozens wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry, which targeted Hezbollah's number two man, Fuad Shukr, who the IDF says was responsible for the strike on Majdal Shams that killed 12 on Saturday

by Yaniv Kubovich, Amos Harel, Jack Khoury, Fadi Amun, Jonathan Lis, Reuters for Haaretz
Jul 30, 2024

The Israeli military said Tuesday that the senior Hezbollah commander who was responsible for Saturday's attack which killed 12 children and teens in Majdal Shams was killed in an airstrike in southern Beirut on Tuesday evening.

The target of the strike was Fuad Shukr, also known as Hajj Muhassin. Shukr is considered Hezbollah's number two man in charge and is responsible for the group's military activities. An Israeli source said that the strike is in response to the killing of the children Majdal Shams and that the ball is now in Hezbollah's hands.

Lebanon's Public Health Ministry said three people were killed and 85 wounded in the Israeli strike.

Lebanese news channel MTV reported that Shukr was killed in the strike, citing a security source, as did two Saudi news channels. Shortly earlier, however, Reuters reported that he survived, citing two security sources.

Shukr has been part of Hezbollah's military wing since its founding and served as a senior military adviser to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. The U.S. State Department previously offered a five million dollar reward for information about his whereabouts.

According to Western sources, he was a partner in the attack on U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983, along with Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh, who was a senior Hezbollah leader and one of the most wanted terrorists by the United States and Israel, has been linked to several terrorist attacks on American and Israeli targets around the world. He was killed in Damascus in 2008 by a car bomb.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X after the strike: "Hezbollah crossed the red line."

Israel assassinated Hezbollah's "chief of staff," whose "hands were covered with the blood of many Israelis," according Gallant added, saying that killing Fuad Shukr proves that no one can kill Israelis with impunity and that "there is nowhere Israel will not strike in order to exact a heavy price from anyone for harming Israel."

Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that Israel "has a right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is," according to an NPR reporter on the scene.

Arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, for a campaign rally, Harris told reporters that she "unequivocally" supports "Israel's right to remain secure," before adding: "All of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks"

Lebanon's government issued a statement condemning the strike, saying it will issue a formal complaint to the United Nations. The country's foreign minister told Reuters news that he hopes for a proportionate response by Hezbollah "so that this wave of killing will stop."

Hamas issued a message strongly condemning the attack, calling it a "dangerous escalation."

CNN reported that Israel gave the United States a heads-up before the strike.

Iran issued a statement, saying that it strongly condemns the "sinful and cowardly Israeli aggression" that targeted the southern Beirut suburb.

Russia issued a statement on the strike, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law."

Lebanon's state-run national news agency said an Israeli strike had targeted the area around Hezbollah's Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of the capital.

A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs - a stronghold of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah - at around 7:40 P.M., a Reuters witness said.

At around the same time as the strike was first reported, some 20 rockets were fired at Israel's upper Galilee, with fires erupting in surrounding areas as a result.

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