Hamas political Chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran

The political head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated in Tehran. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday, that Haniyeh was killed alongside one of his bodyguards at his residence in the Iranian capital while he was in the town to attend Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesdat. There are no further details on the killing from the IRGC. Haniyeh was the face of Hamas and was active in several peace negotiations.
Considered a pragmatist within Hamas and known for his calm demeanour, Haniyeh was born in 1963 in Gaza’s Al-Shati refugee camp to a family that had to flee Ashkelon, several kilometres north of the territory, during the creation of Israel 15 years earlier.Haniyeh had lived in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019 and the threats against him did not prevent him from travelling. He visited Turkey and Iran throughout the Israel-Hamas war. From Doha, he was involved in negotiations meant to bring about a ceasefire and free the Israeli hostages seized on October 7.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the United States was not involved in the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and reiterated the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza. "This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It's very hard to speculate," Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel after the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. A senior Hamas official said that Haniyeh's death "will not go unanswered" and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and marches to protest his killing. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.