Hamas says its leader killed in Israeli strike

Hamas said on Wednesday its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Teheran and vowed the act "will not go unanswered".

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed in a statement the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country's new President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The statement said Haniyeh's residence in Teheran was hit and he was killed along with a bodyguard, adding the attack is under investigation and details will be released later.

Iran declared three days of mourning.

An "official and public" funeral ceremony for Haniyeh would be held in Teheran on Thursday before his body is flown to Qatar, his base in recent years, for burial on Friday, Hamas said.

Israel declined to comment on the strike, which came after it struck a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut on Tuesday, targeting a senior commander of the Lebanese militant group it blamed for a deadly weekend rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Speaking in an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was "not aware of or involved in" the strike that killed Haniyeh.

Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal.

The killing has caused wide concerns and condemnation, with many warning of "chaos" in the Middle East.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened "harsh punishment" for Haniyeh's killing, saying, "We consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Haniyeh's killing as a "cowardly act". "He urged our people and their forces to unite, remain patient, and stand firm against the Israeli occupation," his office said.

Palestinian factions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank called for a general strike and protest marches across the territory.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China firmly opposes and condemns the assassination of Haniyeh. "We feel worried that the issue may cause further turbulence in the region," Lin told a regular news conference on Wednesday.

Noting that China always believes that regional disputes should be settled through negotiations and dialogue, he called for an early, comprehensive and permanent cease-fire in Gaza to avoid further escalation of conflicts.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani cast doubt on the success of future mediation between Israel and Hamas following the killing of Haniyeh.

"Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side? Peace needs serious partners," Sheikh Mohammed, who has led Qatar's mediation efforts, wrote on X.

Russia, Turkiye and Iraq also condemned it.

Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles also warned of "profound "risks for further escalation in the Middle East after Israel was blamed for the assassination of Haniyeh on Iranian soil. "I think all of us look at what's occurring in the Middle East and want to see an end to the catastrophe that is playing out," he said.

No sign of an end

Haniyeh's assassination came as Israel's military campaign in Gaza approaches the end of its 10th month with no sign of an end to a conflict that has threatened to spiral into a wider regional conflict. Ceasefire talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar appear to have faltered.

At the same time, the risk of a war between Israel and Hezbollah has grown following the strike in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 children on Saturday and the subsequent killing of the senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Shukr's death, but said he was in the building hit by an Israeli strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its Oct 7 attacks on Israel, which sparked the conflict in Gaza.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,400 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry.

Agencies and Wang Qingyun in Beijing contributed to this story.

MIKE GU in Hong Kong

mikegu@chinadailyhk.com