Things could not be better for Israel currently - as Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an assassination attack on his residence in Tehran, hours before the Israeli military claimed to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander named Fuad Shukr in a rare drone strike in Beirut. The twin strikes come at a critical time of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Haniyeh, 62, was the tough-talking face of Hamas' international diplomacy as the war with Israel has raged on in Gaza for nearly ten months, and had been residing in Qatar to participate in peace talks. Despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the more hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza.
There has been no comment from the United States or Israel on Haniyeh's death, which has expectedly dealt a major blow to Hamas. On the other hand, the alleged killing of Shukr in Beirut, if true, would also be a major win for Israel as he would be the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed since 2016.
How was Haniyeh killed?
Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country's new president, but not share additional details about the assassination apart from saying that an investigation was underway. However, Hamas attributed Haniyeh's death to a "Zionist raid", accusing Israel.
In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed "in a Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of Iran’s new president". “Hamas declares to the great Palestinian people and the people of the Arab and Islamic nations and all the free people of the world, brother leader Ismail Haniyeh a martyr,” it read.
Palestinian leaders condemned Haniyeh's reported killing as a "cowardly act". In the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a "cowardly act and dangerous development", while senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said Haniyeh's assassination will not go unanswered. The apparent assassination comes at a precarious time as the US is pushing Hamas towards a temporary ceasefire deal.
Notably, Haniyeh joined Hamas during the first Intifada and became a prominent leader of the militant group, becoming the Palestinian Prime Minister in 2006 and Hamas' political bureau chief in 2017. He was 'specially designated' as a global terrorist by the United States in 2017 and had been living in exile in Qatar since 2019. At least 60 members of his family, including his children and grandchildren, have been killed in the ongoing war in Gaza.
How was Shukr killed?
Israel carried out a rare drone strike in Beirut on Tuesday, killing Hezbollah commander Shukr and three civilians, raising the stakes in the escalating tensions with the Lebanese militant group. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the strike killed Fuad Shukr, who "has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end."
However, Hezbollah said they are still searching for the body of the top commander targeted in an Israeli strike on Tuesday. Israel had claimed that Shukr was responsible for the rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 people. Hezbollah said civil defense workers were still searching for his body and others under the rubble of the building Israel struck.
Fuad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsin, is believed to be an important aide of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, his adviser for wartime operations and in charge of Saturday's attack. He was also accused by the United States of orchestrating the 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American servicemen and 58 French paratroopers. The US State Department had offered a $5 million (Rs 40 crore) reward for information about him.
He joined Hezbollah when the group was founded following the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon that forced the Palestine Liberation Organization to leave Lebanon. If Israel's claim proves true, the 62-year-old Shukr would be the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed since 2016, when Mustafa Badreddine, the group's military commander in Syria, died in an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
(with inputs from agencies)
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