Israel has eliminated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. He was targeted in a house in Tehran, Iran's capital. Along with Haniyeh, his bodyguard was also killed in the attack. Although Haniyeh has long been on Israel's radar, after Hamas's bloody attack on October 7, 2023, Israel intensified its efforts to neutralize him.
Israel's determination for vengeance is evident as it had been monitoring Ismail Haniyeh's every activity for the past nine months. As soon as the opportunity arose, Israel eliminated Haniyeh. It's not the first time that a member of Haniyeh's family has been killed in an Israeli attack. Previously, several members of Haniyeh's family were killed in airstrikes by Israel.
When was he targeted?
1.
In November 2023, Haniyeh's granddaughter was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. In the same month, his eldest grandson also perished in an Israeli attack.
2.
On April 10, 2024, an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip resulted in the death of Haniyeh's three sons and three grandsons.
3.
On June 25, 2024, an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Shati refugee camp killed 10 members of Haniyeh's family.
Israel destroyed the house
On Tuesday (July 30), Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran's new President, Masoud Pejman. During this time, Haniyeh also met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The very next morning (Wednesday), Israel blew up the house where Ismail Haniyeh was staying. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement claiming the attack was aimed at Haniyeh’s location in Tehran. Both the Hamas chief and his bodyguard were killed in the attack.
Haniyeh stayed in Qatar
Hamas is headquartered in the Gaza Strip, and Ismail Haniyeh was its chairman, taking over from Khaled Meshaal in 2017. He lived in Doha, Qatar and managed Hamas’s activities from there. Egypt had barred his travel to and from Gaza.
