Iran Vows ‘Harsh Punishment’ for Haniyeh Killing, Türkiye Condemns Assassination  

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him (R) meeting with Palestinian Hamas movement leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 30, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him (R) meeting with Palestinian Hamas movement leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 30, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Iran Vows ‘Harsh Punishment’ for Haniyeh Killing, Türkiye Condemns Assassination  

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him (R) meeting with Palestinian Hamas movement leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 30, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him (R) meeting with Palestinian Hamas movement leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 30, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Avenging Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination is "Tehran's duty" because it occurred in the Iranian capital, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.

He said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment" for itself.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the killing.

He said in a post on the X platform that his country will defend its territorial integrity and make those responsible regret their actions.

Hamas has blamed Israel for the assassination.

Hamas said Haniyeh was killed at his residence in Tehran in an Israeli airstrike after he attended the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president. Israel has not commented on the accusation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the assassination, saying the killing would not break Palestinians' will.

"This assassination is a vileness that aims to disrupt the Palestinian cause, Gaza's noble resistance and our Palestinian siblings' rightful struggle, to break the will of Palestinians, and to intimidate them," Erdogan said on social media platform X. "However, just as until today, the Zionist barbarism will not reach its goals."

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he was "deeply saddened" to hear that Haniyeh had been "martyred", adding that he had become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

"He had devoted his life to the Palestinian cause, and to bringing peace and tranquility to Palestine," Fidan added on social media platform X, sharing a photograph of himself and Haniyeh.

Russia's foreign ministry also condemned the killing and called for restraint to stop the Middle East tipping into a large-scale war.

China condemned the assassination, with its foreign ministry warning the incident could lead to further regional instability.



West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
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West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was killed in Iran on Wednesday, but said it would have little effect on the movement.
Israeli officials have not so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Haniyeh, who had been in Tehran for the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and there has been no official comment from the government, said Reuters.
But few doubted that Haniyeh, the public face of Hamas who took the top job in 2017, was the latest in a string of Hamas leaders to have been killed by Israel.
"We woke up this morning to a tragedy for the Palestinian people," said Fawzi Nassar, a resident of the southern city of Hebron.
"He is not the first one they assassinated - there were many leaders in the past like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and others, but that will not affect our steadfastness," he said, referring to the founder of Hamas who was killed by an Israeli helicopter gunship in 2004.
Palestinian factions called for a day of protest and a general strike in the West Bank and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is a political rival to Hamas, condemned the killing, which Fatah called a "heinous and cowardly act".
Although the West Bank is under the nominal leadership of the Palestinian Authority, run by Fatah, opinion polls show support for Hamas is strong.
"His assassination will not affect the party because the party is not a new one," said Suheil Nasrelddin, a resident of Hebron. "They have a lot of leaders, even the youngest child is a leader."
The West Bank has been in turmoil since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel which sparked Israel's invasion of Gaza, with regular raids by Israeli forces in cities across the area.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, many of them armed militants but also many stone-throwing youths or unarmed protesters and uninvolved civilians.
"The Israeli crime of assassinating Ismael Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, will not break the Palestinian resistance or the Palestinian people's determination to achieve our freedom," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician who heads the Union Of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.
"Of course it will escalate the situation," he said. "And this is what Netanyahu wants, he knows that the end of this war is the end of his political career."