Qatar to Hold Funeral Ceremonies for Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Amid Regional Tensions
Qatar is set to hold funeral ceremonies for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Friday, following his killing in a pre-dawn attack in Tehran that has deepened fears of a regional escalation. The attack, blamed on Israel, has sparked calls for revenge and inflamed regional tensions during the ongoing Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.
Haniyeh, the political chief of the Palestinian armed group, was killed along with his bodyguard in the attack, which came just hours after Israel struck a southern suburb of Beirut, killing Fuad Shukr, the military commander of Hamas-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed the attack, but Israel has not directly commented on it.
The Hamas leader’s assassination has thrown the Gaza war mediation process into doubt, according to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who said that "how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?"
Turkey and Pakistan have announced a day of mourning in honour of Haniyeh, while Hamas has called for a "day of furious rage" to coincide with the burial. The Palestinian group has also encouraged "roaring anger marches… from every mosque" following Friday prayers to protest Haniyeh’s killing and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its October 7 attack on Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
US President Joe Biden has expressed his concern over the rising tensions in the region, saying that the killing of Haniyeh had "not helped" the situation. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone on Thursday, promising to defend Israel’s security "against all threats from Iran".
The international community has called for calm and a focus on securing a ceasefire in Gaza, which Haniyeh had accused Israel of obstructing. Israel, meanwhile, has warned its adversaries that they will "pay a very high price" for any "aggression".
