Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh, the Most Wanted Militant in the Middle East, Assassinated in Tehran Raid

Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a targeted raid on his Tehran residence. Hamas claims Israel conducted the attack. The incident has escalated tensions, prompting an emergency meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Hamas is mourning the death of its chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in a targeted attack on his home in the early hours of Wednesday morning, claimed the IRGC. Hamas, the Palestinian organization that is currently in a war against Israel in Gaza, stated that an Israeli airstrike had killed Haniyeh and one of his guards.

Hamas termed it as a ‘cunning Zionist aggression’ at Haniyeh’s house in Tehran. This assassination has led to an urgent session of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which is currently taking place in the house of the Supreme Leader; Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and this shows the gravity of the situation. The meeting entailed the participation of the chief of the IRGC’s Quds Force that is regarded as the organization’s select force.

The mastermind of the operation, Haniyeh, who led Hamas’ political bureau from the sidelines in Doha, Qatar, had only the day before the attack attended the official inauguration of Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, and had a meeting with the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel ‘stands ready’ for any aggression – military reacting to the attack; however, it is not eager for a large scale war, Daniel Hagari.

Haniyeh had had a hectic schedule of reaching out for ceasefire amid the Israel-Gaza war. In April, Hamas alleged that Israeli air strikes targeted Haniyeh’s house and killed his three sons and four grandchildren. Yahya Sinwar, the head of the military wing of Hamas is credited for leading the group to attack Israel on October 7, which further escalated the situation in Gaza.

The assassination comes days after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) accused the Hezbollah of assassinating Fuad Shukr, its commander, involved in a recent drone killing in the Golan Heights area.

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Who Was Ismail Haniyeh?

Born 62 years ago in a refugee camp near Gaza City, Haniyeh joined Hamas in the late 1980s, quickly rising to become a key associate of the group's founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. He served multiple sentences in Israeli prisons during the 1980s and 1990s. After Hamas's victory in the 2006 legislative elections, he briefly served as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority before being dismissed in 2007. In 2017, he became the head of Hamas's political wing and was designated a "specially designated global terrorist" by the United States.