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Hamas leader Haniyeh assassination: Foreign governments condemn attack

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran on Wednesday, and several foreign governments criticized the attack as a «heinous crime» that will «lead to further escalation of tensions» in the region.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israel was quickly blamed after pledging to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish State.

Israel did not immediately comment, but it usually does not make public comments on assassinations carried out by their Mossad intelligence agency.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said it is «Iran’s duty to avenge Haniyeh’s blood because he was martyred on our soil.»

HAMAS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH REPORTEDLY ASSASSINATED

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, speaks to journalists after his meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, June 28, 2021.  (AP)

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«We will make the terrorist occupiers regret the cowardly assassination, we will defend our honor,» Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said: «Haniyeh’s martyrdom in Tehran will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between Tehran, Palestine, and the resistance.»

The Hamas leader’s son, Abdul Salam Haniyeh, said his 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,» he added.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said: «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.»

«The assassination of Haniyeh will be met with a harsh and painful response,» Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said.

Deputy Russian foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called the attack «an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions.»

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«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 Qatar Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

«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.»

IDF KILLS HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER BEHIND BRUTAL ATTACK ON CHILDREN’S SOCCER FIELD: OFFICIALS

President Masoud Pezeshkian shakes hands with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh

President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, shakes hands with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh at the start of their meeting at the President’s office in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP)

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The Turkish Foreign Ministry said: «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.»

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs added, in part, on the social media platform X that Haniyeh «was a figure who became the symbol of the glorious Palestinian resistance. His cherished memory will live on in the just cause of the Palestinian people.»

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. government would seek to ease tensions but that it would help defend Israel if it were attacked.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a situation assessment hearing with the heads of the defense establishment on Wednesday in the wake of the assassination. Israel will also increase security at Jewish institutions around the world.

Reuters contributed to this report.


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Hamas to free another American in Saturday hostage release

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The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has released the names of the three hostages set to be freed Saturday, including American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, following days of concern that a ceasefire deal with Israel could collapse. 

Russian-Israeli Alexander Troufanov and Argentine-Israeli Yair Horn, who along with Dekel-Chen were abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, will also be released on Saturday, which will mark 497 days in captivity.

Dekel-Chen is the second American to be released by Hamas since President Donald Trump re-entered office, following the release of Keith Siegel on Feb. 1. 

FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE’S MOM SAYS DAUGHTER WAS FORCED TO FAKE HER DEATH FOR A PROPAGANDA VIDEO

Hamas has said it will release Alexander (Sasha) Troponov, 29, Sagi Dekel-Chen, 36, Yair Horn, 46, on Saturday Feb. 15, 2025 in the next hostage release. 

International concern over the stability of the ceasefire reached new heights after Hamas threatened not to release any more hostages – in direct violation of the agreement – after it claimed that Israel had violated the treaty by not facilitating the transport of humanitarian aid and targeting Palestinians in airstrikes. 

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Trump then said on Monday that Israel should cancel the ceasefire agreement if Hamas did not hand over all remaining hostages, not just the three slated to be released on Feb. 15 under the ceasefire agreement. 

Concern mounted when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday also called on Hamas to release hostages come Saturday, but did not specify whether he meant all hostages or the three previously agreed to. 

«The Israeli formal position is that we have an agreement that should be fulfilled,» retired IDF Major General Yaakov Amidror confirmed on Thursday during a discussion hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

EGYPT REPORTEDLY RELEASES DETAILS ON PLAN TO REBUILD GAZA; THERE’S NO MENTION OF ‘COOPERATION’ WITH THE US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

«We don’t [want to] shake the boat by adding [Trump’s] demand,» he said. «The question is, will Hamas fulfill the agreement from its side and release the three hostages? 

«I think Hamas is not going to take the risk now when this is the mood in Washington,» Amidror added. «But we don’t know.» 

Just 16 of the 33 hostages scheduled to be released during the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire have been freed. 

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Following the first week of the rocky agreement, which saw the release of seven hostages, three hostages per week were slated to be released under terms agreed to by Hamas and Israel. The final 14 hostages will be released together on Feb. 22, marking the final week of the first phase.

MOTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE BEGS TRUMP, NETANYAHU TO BRING SON HOME BEFORE CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES: ‘NO MORE TIME’

The Bibas family, from left: Yarden, Ariel, Shiri, and Kfir

The Bibas family, from left: Yarden, Ariel, Shiri, and Kfir. Yarden was released by Hamas in February 2025. The fate of his family remains unknown.  (Ofri Bibas Levy)

The IDF has assessed that at least eight of the hostages slated for release in the first phase have been killed while in Hamas captivity, though the number could be higher as the fate of Shiri Bibas and her two young boys – Ariel, who was four years old when he was abducted alongside his brother Kfir, who was nine months old – remains unconfirmed by the IDF. 

Hamas has claimed they were killed by an Israeli airstrike, though the IDF has said it does not have evidence to support this. 

Mediators were supposed to start to negotiate terms for the release of the remaining 65 hostages earlier this month, though Amidror said he does not believe they has officially begun. At least 26 of those slated for release in the second phase are assessed to have been killed. 

In recent weeks, the hostages have confirmed fears that they were tortured, interrogated and starved during their time in Hamas captivity. And the state of the hostages released last week sparked an outcry as many pointed out the similarities in appearance of the three men to images of those who survived the Holocaust.

Hamas releases Israeli hostages

Emaciated Israeli hostages, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are taken by terrorists to a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.  (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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Five other Americans remain in captivity, including Edan Alexander, 19, an IDF soldier and the only remaining American still assessed to be alive, though he is not slated for release until the second phase of the ceasefire. 

IDF soldiers Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 22, are believed to have been killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and their bodies continue to be held alongside Gadi and Judi Haggai, who were also killed during the terrorist attack near their kibbutz. 

Siegel, 65, thanked Trump for his help in securing his release but urged him to ensure that the ceasefire is upheld and said, «Your leadership and strength will ensure the agreement is honored by all sides – that is what will allow all . . . hostages to return home to their families,» he added. 


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