Former Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran. He was 62 years old. Palestinian militant group Hamas has confirmed that its top leader Haniya was killed in an attack in Tehran. One of Hania's bodyguards was also killed in the attack, according to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Likewise, the Saudi media "Al Hadat" reported that a "guided missile" was fired to kill Hania. According to the news published in Al Hadat, the missile was fired at the building in Tehran where Haniya was staying at 2 am local time. According to Fars News, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hania was in a building housing ex-soldiers in northern Tehran at the time of the attack. Fars News reported that Hania's death was caused by a "missile from the sky".

According to Hamas, Haniya traveled to Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's newly elected president, Massoud Pezheshkian. The ceremony was held on Tuesday. Haniyeh met with Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Pezhekian on Tuesday. Similarly, he also met various parliamentarians during his visit to the parliament building in Tehran. 

^{Tuesday during a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, including Hania.} 

Hamas issued a statement claiming that Israel killed him. Hamas said Haniya was killed in a "deceptive Jewish attack". Musa Abu Marzouk, vice-chairman of Hamas's political department, described the attack as a "cowardly act," according to international media. Similarly, another leader of Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Hamas is sticking to its objectives. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned Hania's killing. He urged the Palestinians to remain "united, patient and determined despite Israeli aggression". The Abbas-led Palestinian Authority currently rules the West Bank.

But most of the West Bank is administered by Israel. After Haniya's murder, Iran issued a serious warning to Israel. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that it is "Tehran's duty to avenge Hania's murder". He says that Israel has acted to be punished. Likewise, Iranian President Masoud Pezheshkian says that he will "make Israel regret and Iran will defend the integrity, dignity and honor of its land". Pezheskian said "Hania is a courageous leader," according to news agency AFP. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Hania was a "self-respecting warrior" and said her sacrifice would not go in vain. Stating that Iran is investigating his death, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that there is a deep and unbreakable relationship between Iran and the Palestinians. Russia and Turkey have also condemned the attack.

Israel has not taken responsibility for the incident. The Israeli military said it would not comment on foreign media reports. Earlier, Israeli high officials had been saying that they would "eliminate Hamas". Hamas launched the worst attack in history against Israel on Oct. 20 (October 7) last year. 1,200 people were killed immediately in the attack and more than 100 people lost their lives within a few days of the attack.

After the attack, Hamas took more than 250 people hostage from Israeli territory. Immediately after that, the attack launched by angry Israel against Hamas continues until now. About 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. Most of the dead were women and children, according to the Health Ministry run by Hamas in Gaza. 

Harkat al-Muqwama al-Islamiya (Hamas) is a Palestinian rebel group. Hamas has been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, claiming that Israel should be destroyed. Home to 2.3 million people, Gaza Strip is a 41 km long and 6 to 12 km wide area between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Israel has control over Gaza's airspace and coastline. 

Israel and Egypt have been embargoing Gaza since 2007. Hamas, formed by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin during the 1987 uprising, wants to drive Israel out of Palestine. Hamas, which does not recognize Israel as a country, aims to establish an independent Islamic state in Palestine. The charter issued by Hamas in 1988 stated that only the complete destruction of the Jewish community and Israel would end Hamas. Since then, Hamas has fought Israel several times. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded that his country does not want war. Israel is not interested in war. However, for that, United Nations Resolution No. 1701 should be implemented," he said. The resolution, which was brought to end the 2006 Lebanon war, states that armed rebel groups, including Hezbollah, should be disarmed. Israel's Minister of Heritage, Emikai Eliyahu, has claimed that the world will be a better place because of Hania's death. "This is the right way to remove garbage from the world," he wrote on the social network "X". Eliyahu, the leader of the far-right party, said there should be no "imaginary peace or surrender agreement with the enemy".

US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin has said that he "doesn't think the conflict will escalate in the Middle East". He did not directly comment on Hania's death. "I don't think war is inevitable. It seems that there is always a place and an opportunity for diplomacy,' said Austin. 

However, analysts say that the possibility of a full-scale war in the region is due to the assassination of Hamas leader Haniya. Nadir Hashimi, a professor of Middle East affairs at Georgetown University, told the BBB that "Hania is facing an unprecedented possibility of full-scale war in the region." If there is a full-scale war due to the latest incident, it seems that it will affect Lebanon as well. Hours before Haniya's murder, a senior Hezbollah leader was assassinated in Lebanon. Hezbollah leader Fouad Sukar has been killed in an attack by Israel in the capital Beirut. 

Since Israel's inhumane attack on Palestine, there have been various attempts for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. However, the killing of Haniya, one of the main negotiators for the ceasefire, is sure to deepen tensions in the region. He played an important role for the ceasefire. Qatar, which has been mediating between Hamas and Israel, has also stated that the killing of Hania jeopardizes the negotiation process, international media have mentioned. "While the talks are ongoing, the continuous incidents of targeting civilians in Gaza have forced us to ask this question - how can mediation succeed when one side kills the other side's negotiators?"

Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Bin Jassim Al Thani said are Thani says that both sides should be serious in order to maintain peace and a global stand against neglect of human life is necessary. 

It is also speculated that Israel will decrease its attacks on Palestine by citing Hania's death. Britain's former national security adviser, Lord Peter Ricketts, told the BBC, "Israel can now say that Hania's leadership has suffered a major blow."

Who is Hania? 

Hania's full name is Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Hania, who has been the head of the political department of Hamas since May 6, 2017. He is also known as Abu al-Abd. He was born on May 8, 1962 in the Sati refugee camp in Gaza. Haniya joined the Islamic student organization Hamas in 1983 while studying at university. Arrested by Israeli soldiers, Hania was jailed several times in Israeli prisons in the 1980s. 

He was jailed for 18 days for the first time in 1987 at the age of 25. After that, in 1988, Hania was jailed for 6 months and in 1989, he was jailed for three years. In 1992, he was exiled along with several Hamas leaders to Marz al-Zuhur, a 'no-man's land' between Israel and Lebanon. He returned to Gaza after completing his exile.

Haniya was appointed chief of office to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1997. After that, his political status reached the height. In 2006, Hamas appointed him Prime Minister of Palestine. However, a year later, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, dismissed him. 

After the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades took control of the Gaza Strip, representatives of Abbas's Fatah movement were expelled. Due to which he also lost his post. Hania said that his dismissal was unconstitutional and that his government will continue its regular work and will not abandon its responsibility to the Palestinian people. 

Since then, Hania has repeatedly asked for reconciliation with Fatah. The US State Department declared him a terrorist in 2018. Hania, who left Gaza in 2019, has since lived in Turkey and Qatar. Earlier, there was an assassination attempt on Hania in 2003. An Israeli jet bombed a meeting between Hamas founder Yassin and Haniya in Gaza. However, both the leaders were able to survive the attack. Yasin was killed six months later.