The head of "Hamas" Ismail Haniya has been killed in Iran

Hamas said its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration of the country's new president.

"The brother, the leader, the Mujahideen Ismail Haniya, the head of the movement, was killed in a Zionist attack on his headquarters in Tehran after participating in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president," the movement said in a statement.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also announced Haniya's death, saying Haniya's residence in Tehran was "hit" and he was killed along with his bodyguard.

"The residence of Ismail Haniya, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance Hamas, was struck in Tehran and as a result of this incident he and one of his bodyguards were martyred," the Corps' Sepah news website said in a statement. the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Haniya had travelled to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on July 30.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment on reports of Haniya's death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and return all hostages taken in the Oct. 7 raid that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

Haniya was appointed head of Hamas's political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure after becoming Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following a landslide victory for Hamas in parliamentary elections that year.

Considered a pragmatist, Hania lives in exile and divides his time between Turkey and Qatar.

During the war, he travelled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey, meeting with the Turkish and Iranian presidents.
Haniya is said to have maintained good relations with the leaders of the various Palestinian factions, including rivals to Hamas.

He joined Hamas in 1987 when the group was founded at the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli occupation, which lasted until 1993.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory, which does not provide detailed information on civilian and militant deaths.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a central element of its foreign policy.
Tehran welcomed the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas but denied it was involved. | BGNES