Ayatollah Ali Khamenei orders attack on Israel // Khaled Meshaal, likely successor to the leader // Iran is blamed for not protecting the leader // Protests in the region
▲ Palestinians yesterday condemned the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Ramallah. Protests were reported in Tehran, Karachi and Istanbul.Afp Photo
Afp, Ap, Reuters, Europa Press, Sputnik, Xinhua and Prensa Latina
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, August 1, 2024, p. 28
Gaza Strip. The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a bombing in Tehran caused shock in the Palestinian territories, where some voices expressed disappointment that Iran was not able to protect itThe Islamic Republic and the Islamist group have warned of retaliation, while regional countries, Russia and China have condemned the attack and warned of the risk of escalation. Israel and the United States have denied any involvement in the leader’s death.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct attack on Israel in response to Haniyeh’s assassination, the daily reported. New York Timeswhich cited officials of the Islamic Republic.
The version was neither confirmed nor denied by the Iranian government.
Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced yesterday that Haniyeh was killed in a bombing they blamed on Israel.
The Palestinian leader was in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. His assassination took place at around 2 a.m. yesterday, Iranian media reported, adding that he was staying at a special residence for war veterans in northern Tehran.
Qatar was able to protect Haniyeh for 10 months, but Iran could not do so even for a few hoursaccused Yusef Saed, 40, a resident of Deir Balah in the Gaza Strip.
Hosam Abdel Razek, 45, an employee at a private institution in Ramallah, said Haniyeh’s killing shows that Palestinian blood is cheap.
Palestinian factions called for a general strike and marches across the West Bank in protest. There were also demonstrations in the Al Bass refugee camp in Lebanon, in Tehran, the Pakistani city of Karachi and Istanbul.
Several Palestinians in the Gaza Strip explained that Haniyeh reached the martyrdom because of the way he was shot down.
This is what every Palestinian hopes for… to achieve martyrdom while defending his land, his people and his sanctities.”We are living in a situation where the Palestinians are not alone,” said Muhamad Farwana, 38, from the southern city of Khan Yunis, where Israeli troops concluded a major ground assault this week that displaced tens of thousands of people.
Haniyeh handed over his children and grandchildren on the wayhe stressed.
Last June, 10 members of Haniyeh’s family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
In April, Haniyeh lost three sons and four grandchildren, also in an Israeli attack, this time in central Gaza. Tel Aviv accused them of terrorist activities.
Haniyeh said that some 60 members of his family had been killed since the war broke out on October 7, following Hamas’s incursion into Israeli territory on that date, which left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages. Tel Aviv responded with an offensive that has so far killed 39,445 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
Haniyeh, who normally resided in Qatar, was the face of Hamas’s international diplomacy during the current war. He had been involved in indirect, internationally mediated talks to reach a ceasefire with Israel.
The Ezzedin Al Qasam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, declared that the assassination of Haniyeh will take the battle to new dimensions and have important repercussions.
Cowardly act: Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the killing cowardly actcalled on Palestinians to remain united against Israel and declared a day of mourning in the West Bank.
Haniyeh’s most likely successor is Khaled Meshaal, his exiled deputy living in Qatar, Hamas officials told Reuters. Under Meshaal, Hamas has emerged as an increasingly important player in the Middle East conflict due to its popularity and regional standing, analysts said. He survived a 1997 assassination attempt in Jordan ordered by Netanyahu.
Avenge Haniyeh is Tehran’s duty because it occurred in the Iranian capital, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed, and ruled that Israel provided the basis for receiving a harsh punishment.
President Pezeshkian, whose government declared three days of mourning, said that the United States is responsible for its support of Israel, asserting that The terrorist occupation will regret it of the cowardly murder and promised to defend territorial integrity and dignity from the country.
The offensive against Haniyeh came less than 24 hours after Israel said it had killed Hezbollah’s top military commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, confirmed the death of commander Fuad Shukr and expressed its condolences for Haniyeh’s death.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the killing of the head of Hamas’ political bureau. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is prepared to any scenario of attack, but did not mention Haniyeh’s death.
Nosaid Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Anna Ukolova, responding to a question from the Sputnik news agency about her involvement in the case.
In Singapore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sidestepped a question about the killing of the Islamist leader, stressing that the United States is not aware neither involved in Haniyeh’s death, he told Channel News Asia.
Qatar, which has been mediating talks to halt the fighting in Gaza alongside Egypt, condemned the attack as a dangerous escalation of the conflict.
Egypt, China, Russia, Turkey and Iraq, as well as the Houthi government in Yemen, have expressed similar opinions, and the European Union has made clear its rejection of extrajudicial executions.
The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, called for moderation to the parties after expressing their concern about recent developments in the Middle East that could have far-reaching implications for the region.
The UN Security Council has called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider conflict in the region following the killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
Two Al Jazeera journalists killed
Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Ghoul and cameraman Rami Refee have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the Qatari broadcaster reported.
In mid-July, the Gaza Strip government’s press office reported that at least 160 media representatives had been killed since Israel began bombing the enclave in October 2023.
