Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in an Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran, reported BBC.
Reports indicate that Ismail Haniyeh was staying at a building for war veterans in Tehran when the attack occurred around 02:00 (00:00 GMT).
Haniyeh, 62, was widely considered Hamas’ overall leader.
Hamas said Haniyeh was in Tehran to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in on Tuesday.
The group’s political bureau member Musa Abu Marzuk said it was a “cowardly act” and one which “will not go unanswered”.
Another senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the group would “continue on its path”.
Several foreign ministries, including Iran, Turkey, Russia and Qatar have condemned the attack.
Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organization.
Hamas governs the Gaza Strip, having taken control from the rival Palestinian faction Fatah in 2007.
The group is known for its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and has been involved in multiple conflicts with Israel.
Hamas aims to establish an Islamic state in place of Israel and rejects Israel’s right to exist.
The organisation is considered a terrorist group by several countries, including the United States, the European Union, and Israel.
It receives support from countries like Iran and has a complex relationship with other regional actors.
Haniyeh’s death comes just hours after Israel claimed it killed the top military commander of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr.
Israel said it killed Fuad Shukr in an air strike, in retaliation for a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
Hezbollah has not yet confirmed that a senior commander was killed by an Israeli attack in Beirut on Tuesday but has said Shukr was in a building which was targeted.
A statement released by Hezbollah on Wednesday, 31 July reads in part:
Since the incident, the civil defence teams have been working to lift the rubble steadily, but slowly, due to the situation of the destroyed classes, and we are still waiting for the result.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese political party and militant group that first emerged during Lebanon’s civil war as a militia after the Israeli invasion of that country in 1982.
Hezbollah receives substantial support from Iran and has close ties with Syria.
The group is known for its strong anti-Israel stance and has been involved in numerous conflicts with Israel, including the 2006 Lebanon War.
Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States, Israel, and the European Union.
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