BREAKING: Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli “raid” on his residence.
Separately, Israel said its strike in Beirut yesterday killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander Fu’ad Shukr, who it blamed for a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. A senior Lebanese government official earlier told CNN that Shukr survived the attack.
Israeli military declines to comment on death of Hamas political leader
From CNN's Abeer Salman in Jerusalem
The Israeli military told CNN they “don’t respond to reports in the foreign media,” after Iranian state media reported that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran.
In a separate statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in what it said was an Israeli raid on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the Iranian president.
Haniyeh was a longtime senior leader in the group, after first joining Hamas in the late 1980s and climbing the ranks in the following decades.
Who was Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh?
The 62-year-old was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City, and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada, or uprising.
As Hamas grew in power, Haniyeh rose through the ranks – being appointed part of a secret “collective leadership” in 2004, then being named the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in 2006.
By 2017 he had become chief of the group — and was named a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States soon after.
Over the years, he participated in peace talks with former US President Jimmy Carter, and met with other world leaders including the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian earlier this year.
In April, Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren, according to Hamas.
At the time, Haniyeh – who was based in Qatar – insisted their deaths would not affect ongoing ceasefire and hostage talks.
“Whoever thinks that by targeting my kids during the negotiation talks and before a deal is agreed upon that it will force Hamas to back down on its demands, is delusional,” he said.