Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Wednesday, describing the strike as a "severe escalation" that would not achieve its goals. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating. "Early this morning, the residence of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was struck, resulting in his and one of his body guards' martyrdom. The cause is under investigation and will be announced soon," the Revolutionary Guards said. There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities. The news, which came less than 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed the Hezbollah commander it said was behind a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, appears to set back chances of any imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

"This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told media. He said Hamas would continue the path it was following, adding: "We are confident of victory." Meanwhile, another senior Hamas official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said the assassination of Haniyeh is a "cowardly act that will not go unpunished". Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, has been the face of the Palestinian group's international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 has raged in Gaza, where three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017, Haniyeh has moved between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, escaping the travel curbs of the blockaded Gaza Strip and enabling him to act as a negotiator in ceasefire talks or to talk to Hamas' ally Iran.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan