The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran is a grave escalation that will not achieve its goals, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Wednesday, joining many others reacting to the news.
The Supreme National Security Council of Iran convened on Wednesday morning to discuss the killing of Haniyeh, according to Israeli media. Iranian sources told Reuters that the council will decide on the strategy Iran will adopt in response to the assassination.
In response to the news, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, gave an official statement saying that the elimination of Haniyeh was "a cowardly act and a dangerous development."
Haniyeh's wife, in a video shared by Quds network, said "I mourn a person whose good memory fills the earth and the heavens. He was the crown of my head, and the joy of my eyes.”
“He has joined the ranks of the true and righteous Mujahideen alongside his children. He was a heroic martyr, the great and noble leader.”
“It pleases God, so the eye does not shed tears and the heart does not mourn despite the pain," she added.
تغطية صحفية: هذا ما قالته زوجة نجل الشهـــيد القيادي بحركة حـــماس إسماعيل هنيـــة، بعد أن اغتاله الاحتلال فجر اليوم. pic.twitter.com/0j8e0XKLUJ
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 31, 2024
Leader of the PLO's Executive Committee, Husein Al-Sheikh, posted on X, saying, "We strongly denounce and condemn the assassination of the head of the Political Bureau, the national leader, Ismail Haniyeh. We consider it a cowardly act; this pushes us to remain more steadfast in the face of the occupation and the necessity of achieving the unity of the Palestinian forces and factions."
This comes after various Palestinian factions, including rivals Hamas and Fatah, agreed to end their divisions and form a Palestinian national unity government during negotiations in China earlier in July.
نستنكر وندين بشدة اغتيال رئيس المكتب السياسي القائد الوطني إسماعيل هنية. ونعتبره عملا جباناً، يدعونا إلى المزيد من الصمود والثبات في وجه الاحتلال، وضرورة إنجاز وحدة القوى والفصائل الفلسطينية.
— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) July 31, 2024
In a post on their official X account, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani referred to Haniyeh's death, saying, "The pure blood of this mujahid will not be wasted. Blood will never be wasted"
"Haniyeh's martyrdom in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between the Islamic Republic and the Palestinian resistance," Kanaani continued.
The new Iranian president, President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose inauguration Haniyeh was attending on Tuesday, said that Iran will "defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act," Iranian state media reported.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry posted an official statement on their website saying, "We condemn the vile assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran."
They also offered "condolences to the Palestinian people who gave hundreds of thousands of martyrs like Haniyeh so that they could live in peace in their own homeland, under their own state."
Hamas Siyasi Büro Şefi İsmail Haniye’ye Düzenlenen Suikast Hk. https://t.co/lqRQTUWwlg pic.twitter.com/8GMpa0B2if
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) July 31, 2024
The Ministry added that the killing of Haniyeh demonstrated Netanyahu's lack of desire for regional peace and asked the international community to step in to "stop Israel." They also reiterated their commitment to the Palestinian cause.
The head of international relations for the PLO, Maher al-Tahir, told Al-Mayadeen that Israel had crossed "all red lines and had pushed matters towards a comprehensive war with the entire axis of resistance.”
Al-Tahir added that they were "fully prepared for the confrontation."
"The enemy government will regret the sin it committed by assassinating Haniyeh and attacking Iranian sovereignty," Al Mayadeen quoted him as saying. Al Tahir also added that such an assassination would only have been possible with US backing.
The Houthis told Al Mayadeen that the elimination of Haniyeh was "a terrorist act and a flagrant violation of the laws."
The Foreign Ministry of Qatar posted on their official X that they condemned in "the strongest terms the assassination of Dr. Ismail Haniyeh, and considers it a heinous crime, a dangerous escalation, and a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law."
"The Qatari Ministry expresses the condolences to the families of the head of the Hamas political bureau and his companions," they added.
International officials react
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was in the Philippines, said the US would help defend Israel if it were attacked but that he did not believe a wider war in the region was inevitable, despite rising tensions, Reuters reported.
"I don't think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there's always room and opportunities for diplomacy."
"This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions," RIA cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.
Deputy Russian foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told RIA Novosti that the killing was "an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions."
China also condemned the assassination, saying it would lead to further regional instability, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The Dutch politician Geert Wilders posted "good riddance" on his X account.