Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran, Iran for a big event.
So, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh got killed in Tehran by a “short-range projectile” that was shot from outside his guesthouse. This is what Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is saying.
The IRGC said the projectile was about 7kg (16lbs) and made a huge explosion, killing Haniyeh and his bodyguard last Wednesday. Haniyeh was in Tehran to see President Massoud Pezeshkian get inaugurated.
Iran thinks Israel did it with help from the US, but Israel hasn’t said anything about it.
Some Western media think Israeli operatives planted bombs in the guesthouse instead.
Haniyeh’s death was a big mess for Iran, especially since security was tight that day. Many IRGC officers have been arrested or fired because of this, according to the New York Times.
The IRGC’s intelligence agency is now investigating. Staff at Haniyeh’s guesthouse had their phones and electronics taken for the investigation.
Iranian politicians’ security is getting a revamp too. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh on Thursday but was quickly taken away by his security team.
The IRGC’s statement came after the Daily Telegraph said Haniyeh was killed by bombs planted by Mossad agents. They supposedly put bombs in three rooms and then left Iran before setting them off.
The New York Times also reported that bombs could have been planted in Haniyeh’s room months earlier. The BBC hasn’t confirmed any of this yet.
Hamas officials said Haniyeh had stayed at the same guesthouse many times before. He visited Iran a lot since becoming the head of the political bureau in 2017.
If these reports are true, it’s a bigger fail for the IRGC, showing Mossad can do what it wants in Iran.
Iran and Hamas have promised to strike back no matter how Haniyeh was killed.
The IRGC said Israel would get a “severe punishment at the right time and place.”
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, also wants revenge. One of their commanders, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli strike last Tuesday.
Earlier this year, after an Israeli operation killed IRGC Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Damascus, Iran fired drones, missiles, and rockets towards Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israelis about tough times ahead. He said they’re ready for any scenario.
Despite the warnings, people in Tel Aviv were chilling at the beach. But everyone knows the Middle East could be heading for a full-scale war.
Israel is on high alert, and some airlines have stopped flying there.
The US has sent more warships and fighter jets to help defend Israel if Iran or its allies attack.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said things could get worse quickly.
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run media.
Israel also said they killed a Hamas commander and four other fighters in an airstrike in the West Bank on Saturday.
Israeli officials are now in Cairo for new ceasefire talks with Egyptian intelligence. But US President Joe Biden said Haniyeh’s death has hurt the peace efforts.
Haniyeh was a big part of the negotiations, and Biden said his death “doesn’t help” to end the conflict that started in October when Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking hostages back to Gaza.
Since then, Israel’s response has killed at least 39,550 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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