By James Myers, OAN Staff
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 8:25 AM
Terrorist group Hamas said an Israeli airstrike early on Wednesday killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, prompting Iran to vow to take revenge against Israel.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that one of the terrorist organization’s top leaders, Haniyeh, was killed while he was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
The Revolutionary Guards did not comment on Haniyeh’s death but Hamas claimed Israel was responsible and said the group’s leader was killed “in a Zionist airstrike at his home in Tehran after taking part in the inauguration of Iran’s new president.”
“Hamas proclaims to the great Palestinian nation, to the Arab and Islamic peoples and to all free peoples of the world that our brother leader Ismail Haniyeh is a martyr,” the short statement read.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader has vowed revenge for the Israeli airstrikes.
“I consider it our duty to take revenge on him,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his official website. He said Israel had “prepared itself for a severe punishment” by killing “a valued guest of our country.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps also announced that Haniyeh was killed at his home in Tehran.
“Earlier this morning an attack was carried out on Mr. Ismail Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran, resulting in the martyrdom of Mr. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards. The cause is under investigation and will be announced shortly,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Haniyeh’s death “a cowardly act and a dangerous development.”
Moreover, both Russia and Iran condemned the “unacceptable political assassination” of the Hamas leader.
“This is all very wrong,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. CNN“This is a totally unacceptable political assassination and will lead to further escalation of tensions.”
Haniyeh’s death came after Israel carried out airstrikes in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday evening, killing a top Hezbollah commander behind a rocket attack.
Hezbollah denied any involvement in the Golan Heights attack that killed 12 children last weekend and said on Wednesday it was still searching for the body of Fouad Shukr after the Israeli airstrike.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killing of the Hamas leader at this time, but Israel has previously stated it would eliminate all Hamas leaders following the October 7 terror attack.Number The attack on the Jewish state left 1,200 people dead and 250 kidnapped.
Asked about Haniyeh’s killing during a visit to Singapore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “This is something that we were not aware of and had no involvement in.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he did not believe “war was inevitable.”
“I stand by that view. I think there’s always room and opportunity for diplomacy,” Austin told reporters in the Philippines on Wednesday. Reuters.
“We will do everything in our power to prevent further spread across the region.”
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