Hamas announced that their leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an attack on July 31st in Tehran, Iran. Iranian state media reported that Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in a strike on their lodging. The IRGC stated Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s President. Hamas condemned the attack, claiming it was a “treacherous Zionist raid,” but Iranian authorities haven’t confirmed this.
Here is some information about Haniyeh’s life:
– Born in Gaza in 1962, Haniyeh was a Palestinian refugee.
– He studied Arabic literature and became involved in politics in the 1980s.
– Haniyeh was a key figure in the founding of Hamas and a close advisor to its founder.
– He became the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau after the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004 and the political chief in 2017.
– Haniyeh was arrested multiple times by Israeli authorities for his involvement in the First Intifada.
– He served as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2006 to 2007, leading a Hamas-led administration in Gaza from 2007 to 2014.
– Haniyeh was married with five children. Sadly, his three sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2024.
After an October 7th attack that killed over 1,195 people, Israel declared it would kill Haniyeh and destroy Hamas. Israel’s war on Gaza has resulted in a tragic toll, with over 39,400 deaths and over 90,923 injuries according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
