Iran Holds Funeral Processions for Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh, Vows Revenge
Iran held funeral processions on Thursday to mourn the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in a strike in Tehran, which is believed to have been carried out by Israel. The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led prayers for Haniyeh and threatened a “harsh punishment” for his killing. Thousands of mourners gathered at Tehran University for the ceremony, carrying posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags.
The death of Haniyeh was announced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who stated that he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in Tehran. This strike came shortly after Israel targeted and killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. The escalating violence has raised concerns about a wider regional war following the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Iran’s state TV showed the coffins of Haniyeh and his bodyguards covered in Palestinian flags during the ceremony, which was attended by senior Iranian officials. Senior Hamas figure Khalil Al-Hayya vowed during the funeral ceremony that Haniyeh’s slogan of “We will not recognize Israel” will remain immortal, and they will continue to pursue Israel until it is uprooted from Palestine.
Iran’s conservative parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that Iran will carry out the supreme leader’s order to avenge Haniyeh. He emphasized the duty to respond at the right time and in the right place, while the crowds chanted “Death to Israel, Death to America!”
The international community, however, called for de-escalation and a focus on securing a ceasefire in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the strikes in Tehran and Beirut as a dangerous escalation and emphasized the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel.
The killing of Haniyeh has thrown the mediation process into doubt, according to the prime minister of Qatar, a key ceasefire broker. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on all parties in the Middle East to stop escalatory actions and reiterated that a ceasefire in Gaza is imperative.
While Iran has blamed Israel for the attack, Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death. Israel did, however, claim responsibility for killing Shukr, whom they blamed for a rocket strike in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. These killings have further inflamed regional tensions already heightened by the war in Gaza.
Hamas has been engaged in indirect negotiations for a truce and hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Israel, facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. Analysts believe that Haniyeh was a moderating influence within Hamas, and his replacement could potentially change the dynamics within the group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the attack that sparked the war in Gaza. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, and the seizure of 251 hostages, with 111 still held captive in Gaza.
The killing of Haniyeh has raised concerns about the fate of the remaining hostages and the possibility of a hostage deal. The retaliatory campaign by Israel against Hamas has claimed the lives of at least 39,445 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The funeral processions in Iran and the vows of revenge highlight the escalating tensions in the region. The international community continues to call for de-escalation and a focus on achieving a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent further loss of life and to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.