Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran after strike on his residence

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed after their residence was targeted in Iran, the Palestinian group announced in a statement today. Hamas described the incident as "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran" on Tuesday morning. The group has launched an investigation to uncover more details about the attack.

Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in of Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian. The official statement from Hamas read, "Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his headquarters in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh's death, stating that his residence in Tehran was "hit," resulting in the deaths of Haniyeh and a bodyguard. Hamas has accused Israel of orchestrating the attack, calling it a "grave escalation." "This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas," said senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.

Reacting to the killing, Israeli Minister Amichay Eliyahu posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "this is the right way to clean the world from this filth." Israel had previously vowed to kill Ismail Haniyeh and destroy the Hamas group following an attack on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians.