Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran

Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran, according to a statement from the group that runs the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, which blamed Israel for his killing.

Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed in the early hours of Wednesday after the building where they were staying was struck, the statement said.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns to our great Palestinian people, to the Arab and Islamic nation, and to all the free people of the world: brother, leader, martyr, Mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, who was killed in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran,” it added.

Israel has yet to confirm or deny its involvement on the killing of Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

But the news of the assassination sparked anger across Palestine and stoked fears about a wider regional conflict in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 10 month. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire over their border while Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been assaulting Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and other waters.

At least 39,445 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war, now in its 10th month, with more than 91,000 wounded. Israel began attacking Gaza, promising to eliminate Hamas and kill its leaders after the group launched an attack on October 7 in southern Israel that led to the killing of  some 1,139 people and more than 200 being taken captive.  taking more than 200 others captive.