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Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran early on Wednesday, raising the risk of a further escalation of regional hostilities.
The Palestinian militant group said in a statement that Haniyeh, who lived in exile, died after a “treacherous Zionist” attack on his residence in Tehran. Iranian state media confirmed his death.
The killing of Haniyeh came hours after Israel said it had killed a senior Hizbollah commander in an air strike on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, heightening fears that the region was sliding towards a full-blown war.
The Hamas leader had been living in exile in Qatar but often travelled to Iran, which supports Hamas as one of the militant movements in the so-called axis of resistance. He had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday and met him earlier that day.
Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran will mark a huge embarrassment for Iran and risk the regime retaliating against Israel.
Israel did not immediately comment on Haniyeh’s death. Israeli officials have previously said they would hold all Hamas leaders accountable for the group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Haniyeh is the highest-profile member of Hamas to be killed since the October attack and Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza triggered a wave of regional hostilities. He was the main interlocutor for mediators trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held in the strip.
Tensions in the region had already soared after Israel said it had killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hizbollah commander, in an air strike on a residential building in southern Beirut on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces described Shukr as Hizbollah’s most senior military commander and right-hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.
Hizbollah has yet to make an official comment about the Israeli strike, but it was the first Israeli strike targeting one of the group’s leaders in Beirut since October 7.
The IDF said Shukr was behind last Saturday’s strike on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights that killed 12 youth on a football pitch, the deadliest incident for civilians in Israeli-controlled territory since Israel and Hizbollah started exchanging almost daily fire nearly 10 months ago.