The international stage witnessed a dramatic turn of events as Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, was killed in a pre-dawn airstrike in Tehran, Iran. This incident unfolded just hours after Haniyeh had participated in the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, alongside leaders from various countries, including India’s Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Iran, along with Hamas, has accused Israel of carrying out the strike and vowed to seek revenge for Haniyeh’s death. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared, “We consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Echoing this sentiment, President Pezeshkian promised “consequences” for Israel, stating, “The Zionists will soon see the consequences of their cowardly and terrorist act.”
Haniyeh’s presence at the inauguration ceremony, alongside other Iran-backed allies like the head of Islamic Jihad, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, and Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, underscored the close ties between these groups and Iran.
This incident has further escalated tensions between Iran and Israel, already embroiled in a conflict in Gaza. The strike comes after Israel targeted a Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut, aiming at a senior commander accused of launching a deadly rocket attack on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for their October 7 attacks on Israel, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza and resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, primarily civilians, according to AFP.
With the aftermath of Haniyeh’s death, the international community anxiously awaits the next developments in this escalating conflict, as the specter of retaliation looms large over the region.
