Neutralized: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Number 1

August 1, 2024

by: Kate Norman

Thursday, 1 August 2024 | It has been a busy few days for Israel following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on Wednesday—hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut that killed the Hezbollah mastermind behind a rocket attack that killed 12 children in northern Israel on Saturday.

Haniyeh was killed in a missile strike at a guest house in Tehran in the predawn hours of Wednesday morning, Iranian media and Hamas reported, in what a Hamas statement described as a “treacherous Zionist raid.”

The Hamas political chief was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Tuesday. The Iranian Presidency Office published a photo of Haniyeh and Pezeshkian shaking hands in a warm greeting on Tuesday at the president’s office.

Little did they know that it would also be their farewell, as Haniyeh was killed several hours later, along with his bodyguard, in the guest house he reportedly frequented.

Pezeshkian’s friend, however, was gone but not forgotten, as the new president vowed revenge against Israel for Haniyeh’s death, saying in a statement that Iran will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

Though it was well-known that Haniyeh was on Israel’s hit list ever since Hamas’s massacre on October 7, the leadership in Jerusalem has yet to comment on the Jewish state’s involvement in Haniyeh’s death.

Israel did, however, announce its strike on the Hezbollah commander responsible for the strike on Saturday that killed 12 children in the Druze village of Majdal Shams.

“ELIMINATED” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its X account, announcing the death of Fu’ad Shukr. “Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander and Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th,” the tweet continued.

As well as being responsible for the death of the 12 children, Shukr was also responsible for the deaths of numerous Israelis over the years as well as a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed some 241 US military personnel.

Hamas is a Sunni Islamist terrorist group operating in Gaza and Hezbollah is a Shiite terrorist group operating in Lebanon. Despite their religious differences, what brings them together? Common ground: financial backing and general support from Iran, as well as hatred for Israel.

Iran has harnessed Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups into its “axis of resistance” in order to extend its reach across the region and attack Tehran’s enemies—particularly Israel—without doing any of the dirty work itself.

But if Tehran’s leaders are to be believed, the assassination of Haniyeh in the heart of the Islamist regime is too much to stomach.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini stated on his website that Iran considers Haniyeh’s “revenge as our duty,” as quoted by the AP, and that by assassinating “a dear guest in our home,” Israel has “prepared a harsh punishment for itself.”

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Amir Ali Hajizadeh, echoed the warning to Israel, according to Jewish Breaking News, stating: “Be prepared to tell the Zionists what the punishment is for shedding the blood of a guest in our home.”

Iran has declared three days of public mourning for the fallen Hamas chief, the Times of Israel reported.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas also declared a national day of mourning yesterday for Haniyeh, the Times of Israel reported.

Hamas and the PA have historically been at odds, given their bloody history. Haniyeh served a brief stint as prime minister of the PA in 2006 after winning the election. The unity government fell apart, however, by 2007, and Hamas violently expelled Fatah officials from the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Hamas has maintained control of Gaza and the PA over Judea and Samaria. But every now and then, they are able to put their differences aside and join hands for their common good: the fight against Israel and mourning their departed friend.

Iran will hold a funeral for Haniyeh in the capital, the Times of Israel reported, citing Hamas, before the Hamas chief is taken to Qatar, the small Gulf State on the Arabian Peninsula where Haniyeh made his home since 2019, to be buried.

His legacy will live on, as shown by the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement: “the martyrdom of Haniyeh in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine, and the resistance”—all with the same common enemy: Israel.

However, ordinary Gazans—who were forced to face the consequences of the war with Israel their leaders started while Haniyeh lived in the lap of luxury in Qatar—rejoiced at the news of the terror leader’s demise.

“To hell with Haniyeh and may it come to Sinwar [Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip] and the rest of their gang soon. A happy day for humanity,” an anonymous Gazan wrote on X. “I was at the market this morning and witnessed people happy and wishing it upon Sinwar as well,” shared another. “May it happen to the rest of them,” added a third. And so it continued.

The next 72 hours in Israel is considered critical. Would you please join us in praying for Israel and her people?

Posted on August 1, 2024

Source: (Bridges for Peace, August 1, 2024)

Photo Credit: Central Intelligence Agency/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo License: Wikimedia