Written By Lisa Murimi
Thousands have turned out for the funeral procession in Iran of Hamas political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a strike in Tehran on Wednesday.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is leading the prayers before Haniyeh is buried in Qatar.
US media have quoted Iranian officials as saying the supreme leader has ordered a direct attack against Israel, which it says was responsible for the attack on Iranian soil.
Israel has not commented on the assassination directly. However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had delivered “crushing blows” to its enemies in recent days, including the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon hours before the Tehran strike.
He warned Israelis that “challenging days lie ahead,” as fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East grow.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against a “dangerous escalation” of hostilities in the region. Hamas’s armed wing said the death of Haniyeh, who was widely viewed as the group’s overall leader, would “take the battle to new dimensions” and have major repercussions.
Haniyeh was killed hours after attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran.
A senior Hamas official said that the killing took place in the same building where Haniyeh had stayed during previous visits to Iran.
Three Hamas leaders and several guards were also present.
Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, confirmed that a missile hit Haniyeh “directly.”
Israel had also killed senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut, who was believed responsible for a rocket attack that killed 12 people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah has denied any involvement but confirmed Shukr’s body was found among the rubble of the residential building that was struck.
