The leader of the political wing of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Tehran, Reuters reports.
Haniyeh arrived the Iranian capital on Tuesday to attend the inauguration of Newly elected Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to reports, the Hamas leader was killed by a “guided missile” which source have not been determined.
Haniyeh had arrived Tehran on the invitation of the authorities, though he had always maintained a fortified residence in the Iranian capital.
Hours earlier he was given a hero’s welcome ahead of the presidential inauguration, but was killed as soon as he arrived his Tehran residence where he was scheduled to hold closed-door meetings with his associates.
The assassination of Haniyeh comes barely 24hours after Israel announced it has killed a very senior Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr in a targeted strike in Beirut, Lebanon.
The two assassinations have left both Hamas and Hezbollah in shock with fears that the ongoing war in Gaza may escalate into another regional conflict.
Israel have vowed to weaken Hamas and Hezbollah to the point that the two Iranian backed groups will have diminished capacity to attack Israel.
Middle East security analysts see the latest killings as a retaliation to the rocket attacks on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday which killed 12 people including children. Though Hezbollah has denied any involvement in that attack Israel vowed to retaliate.
Reacting to the killing of Haniyeh, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of the Hamas leader.
Haniyeh became the political leader of Hamas six years ago and has become the face of the organization’s international diplomacy ever since.
He was based in Qatar, but maintained secret residences in many friendly Middle East capitals. In the last six years, he was said to have visited Tehran more than fifteen times and was always welcomed as “Head of State.”
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that, “This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas.” He however, maintained that, “We are confident of victory.”