Hamas responds to Haniyeh's assassination, says killing 'will not go unanswered'

A senior Hamas official said Wednesday (July 31) that the killing of the Palestinian movement’s chief Ismail Haniyeh “will not go unanswered”.

“The assassination of leader Ismail Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will not go unanswered,” Hamas political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk said in a statement, according to AFP.

Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was killed while in Tehran for the inauguration of the Iranian president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian. Iranian media said that the Hamas chief was killed by an air strike.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion immediately fell on Israel. Tel Aviv had vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s October 7 attack on Israel.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

“Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israel often does not claim responsibility when it comes to assassinations carried out by their Mossad intelligence agency.

With inputs from agencies