Reaction to Killing of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh 

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sits in a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sits in a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
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Reaction to Killing of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh 

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sits in a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sits in a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran on Wednesday, the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in separate statements. 

Here are reactions: 

ABDUL SALAM HANIYEH, SON OF ISMAIL HANIYEH: "My father survived four assassination attempts during his patriotic journey, and today Allah has granted him the martyrdom that he always wished for. 

"He was very keen to establish national unity and strived for the unity of all Palestinian factions and we affirm that this assassination will not deter the resistance, which will fight until freedom is achieved." 

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NASSER KANAANI: "Haniyeh's martyrdom in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine, and the resistance." 

QATAR FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT: "Qatar strongly condemns the assassination of Dr. Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and considers this a heinous crime and a dangerous escalation, as well as a major violation of international and humanitarian laws. 

"The foreign ministry affirms that this assassination and Israel's reckless, continuous targeting of civilians in Gaza will push the region into a circle of chaos, as well as limit the prospects of peace." 

DEPUTY RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MIKHAIL BOGDANOV: "This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions." 

SAMI ABU ZUHRI, SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL: "This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives. 

"Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory."  

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY: "We offer our condolences to the Palestinian people who have given hundreds of thousands of martyrs like Haniyeh in order to live in peace in their own homeland, under the roof of their own state. 

"It has been revealed once again that the Netanyahu Government has no intention of achieving peace. 

"This attack also aims to spread the war in Gaza to a regional level. If the international community does not take action to stop Israel, our region will face much greater conflicts." 

MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: "Malaysia unequivocally condemns all acts of violence, including targeted assassination, and urges all peace-loving nations to join in denouncing such acts. 

"The incident underscores the urgent need for de-escalation and reinforces the necessity for all parties to engage in constructive dialogue and pursue peaceful resolutions." 

AREEPEN UTTARASIN, VETERAN THAI POLITICIAN AND FORMER GAZA HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: "The assassination is very serious because it occurred in Iran. It shows that Hamas's opponents can strike anywhere. Assassinating the Hamas leader will make negotiations and de-escalation more difficult. Things will become more violent and the situation will worsen, it will not improve."  



UN: Israel's War Plans Threaten 'Continued Existence' of Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at a school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit twice by Israeli army strikes on Tuesday, killing more than 25 people, in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit twice by Israeli army strikes on Tuesday, killing more than 25 people, in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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UN: Israel's War Plans Threaten 'Continued Existence' of Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at a school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit twice by Israeli army strikes on Tuesday, killing more than 25 people, in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school used as a shelter by displaced residents that was hit twice by Israeli army strikes on Tuesday, killing more than 25 people, in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The UN rights chief voiced deepened concerns Wednesday that Israel's plans to expand its offensive in Gaza aim to create conditions threatening Palestinians' "continued existence" in the territory.

Israel's military has called up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip, which an official said would entail the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory.

"Israel's reported plans to forcibly transfer Gaza's population to a small area in the south of the Strip and threats by Israeli officials to deport Palestinians outside of Gaza further aggravate concerns that Israel's actions are aimed at inflicting on Palestinians conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza as a group," Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

"There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed," he said.

"Instead, expanding the offensive on Gaza will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, and the destruction of Gaza's little remaining infrastructure."

Nearly all of the Palestinian territory's 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once during the war, sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

A more than two-month Israeli blockade on all aid into Gaza has worsened the humanitarian crisis.

According to AFP, Turk warned that stepping up the Israeli offensive "would only compound the misery and suffering inflicted by the complete blockade on the entry of basic goods for almost nine weeks now".

"Gaza's residents have already been deprived of all lifesaving necessities, particularly food, with relentless Israeli attacks on community kitchens and those trying to maintain a minimum of law and order," he said.

"Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime," Turk said, adding that "the only lasting solution to this crisis lies through full compliance with international law".

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 2,507 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in mid-March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,615.