DUBAI: The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Iran has sparked regional and global reactions, fueling fears of a wider escalation in a region reeling from Israel's war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.
Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration of the country's new president.
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards military force confirmed Haniyeh's death and said in a statement that “Iran and the resistance front will respond to this crime,” using a term Tehran uses to refer to allied militant groups across the Middle East.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the attack.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge against Israel for the killing of the Hamas political chief, saying Israel “has prepared a harsh punishment for itself.”
“We consider his revenge our duty,” he said in a statement on his official website, saying Haniyeh was “a dear guest in our home.” Iran has also declared three days of mourning following the killing of the Hamas leader.
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters: “This assassination of brother Haniyeh by the Israeli occupation is a serious escalation aimed at breaking the will of Hamas.”
He said Hamas would continue on the path it has taken, adding: “We are confident of victory.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Haniyeh's killing, and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and mass demonstrations.
Russia on Wednesday denounced Haniyeh's killing as an “unacceptable political assassination.”
“This is a completely unacceptable political assassination, which will lead to a further escalation of tensions,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the state news agency RIA Novosti.
Konstantin Kosachev, deputy chairman of the upper house of the Federation Council of Russia, said he expected “a sudden escalation of mutual hatred in the Middle East.”
“The most difficult period of clashes is beginning in the region,” he wrote on Telegram.
Following Haniyeh's death, China's Foreign Ministry said China opposes and condemns the act of “assassination.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “wicked assassination” in Tehran of his close ally and “brother” Haniyeh.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, who was martyred after this heinous attack,” Erdogan wrote on the social media platform X, denouncing “Zionist barbarism.”
“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious resistance of Gaza and the just struggle of our Palestinian brothers, as well as to intimidate the Palestinians,” Erdogan added.
Qatar strongly condemned Haniyeh's assassination, calling it a heinous crime, “a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a statement that “the reckless killing and targeting of civilians will plunge the region into chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militant group called Haniyah's killing a “heinous terrorist crime.”
“Targeting him is a heinous terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values,” Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi political bureau, wrote in X.
Egypt said the Israeli escalation was indicative of Israel's lack of political will to de-escalate following Haniyeh's killing.
In a statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said that this escalation, coupled with the lack of progress in ceasefire talks in Gaza, is further complicating the situation.
Since November, Yemeni rebels have been launching drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea, claiming they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah expressed its condolences on Wednesday, but did not specifically blame Israel. It said that the killing of Haniyeh would make Iran-aligned groups like Hezbollah and Hamas more determined to confront Israel.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Haniyeh's killing.
Asked by reporters in Manila about the Tehran attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had “no further information to provide.” But he expressed hope for a diplomatic solution on the Israel-Lebanon border.
