smail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, a key player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was killed in Tehran on July 31. Haniyeh, who was born in a Gaza refugee camp and joined Hamas during the First Intifada in the late 1980s, had a long career with the resistence group. His parents were refugees displaced from Ashkelon. He was part of Hamas’s clandestine leadership council established in 2004 following the deaths of Shaikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who were both killed in Israeli attacks.

Haniyeh had briefly served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in 2006 after Hamas’s victory in the Legislative Council elections. However, his tenure was cut short a year later by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The following year, Hamas took control of Gaza after a violent conflict with Abbas’s Fatah. Israel and Egypt then imposed a comprehensive blockade on Gaza. Despite being a leading figure in Gaza, Haniyeh only became Hamas’s overall political leader in 2017, succeeding Khaled Meshaal, who had been similarly leading from exile. In 2018, the US made Haniyeh a “specially designated global terrorist” amidst rising tensions over the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by then-president Donald Trump.

The latest escalation began with a surprise Hamas assault on October 7 when more than 1,500 fighters broke through Israeli security. At least 1,200 people were killed in the attack and around 200 taken hostages. Israeli strikes on Gaza since then have resulted in more than 39,000 Palestinian deaths, precipitating a severe humanitarian crisis. Haniyeh had expressed willingness to negotiate if Israel withdrew from Gaza. The Israeli government has declared the demand unacceptable.

The conflict had already taken a personal toll on Haniyeh. In April, Israeli police had arrested his sister and charged her with communication with Hamas members. Israeli airstrikes killed three of his sons and four grandchildren. Haniyeh had said that these losses would not influence peace negotiations.

Haniyeh’s death is a hard blow to Hamas. It has removed a key leader who had led the group’s political operations from abroad. Separately, Israel has owned a strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr, blamed for a recent attack in the Golan Heights.

The Iranian state media reported that the strike that killed Haniyeh occurred around 2am (local time) and an “airborne guided projectile” was used. Earlier that day, Haniyeh had been photographed meeting Iranian officials in Tehran. His death is a hard blow to Hamas. It has removed a key leader who had managed the group’s political operations from abroad.

Separately, Israel owned a strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr, blamed for a recent attack in the Golan Heights. The event marked a significant escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah, reflecting heightened tensions in the region.

Brig Gen Assaf Orion from Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies noted that the deaths of Haniyeh and Shukr could provoke retaliatory actions, potentially involving Iran and its regional allies. Iran has called the killing of Haniyeh as a grave affront and a violation of its sovereignty. Its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has affirmed the need for retribution. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is still investigating the incident. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the assassination, calling it as a “cowardly act” and called for Palestinian unity against Israeli occupation.

In Turkey, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of central Istanbul on Wednesday evening to denounce the killing of Haniyeh. Demonstrators in the Fatih district of Istanbul carried signs featuring Haniyeh’s image, and waved both Turkish and Palestinian flags.

The writer is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan. He can be reached at: hafeezkhan3003 @gmail.com