Hamas Political leader killed

Zim Now Writer

A Hamas most senior leader, Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated on Wednesday in Iranian capital Tehran where he had gone for the inaguaration of newly elected Iran President.

Haniyeh had been in charge of Hamas group’s political operations from exile in Qatar, for over two decades becoming its most senior member.

The New York Times reports that Haniyeh had travelled to Iran on Tuesday together with other senior members of Iran’s Axis resistance which includes groups such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, for the inauguration of Iran President, with the assassination being blamed on an Israeli raid in Tehran, according to a statement by Hamas.

He was also known for his key role in negotiations in the cease-fire deal with Israel, with Iran threatening revenge for the “breach of its sovereignty” which will likely result in more heated tensions and an expansion of the war.

Commenting on the assassination of Haniyeh, Palestinian ambassador at the United Nations, Feda Abdelhady demanded for accountability for the assassination, noting that Israel should account also for all the years of injustice and crime against Palestine.

“There is no right that Israel can claim to justify these war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she added. “The right to peace and security is the right of all states in the region and in every region of the world. It is not an exclusive right of Israel,” Abdelhady told the Security Council.

The death of Haniyeh has been described by analysts as a setback to negotiations, which has invited a retaliatory order by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for Iran to directly strike Israel for killing Haniyeh in their territory.