Ismail Haniyeh killed by short-range projectile says Iran o Hamas leader death

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a “short-range projectile” with a 7 kg warhead fired from outside his residence in Tehran, Reuters reported. The IRGC emphasised that the attack was carried out by Israel with support from the “criminal” US government.

“Based on investigations and analyses conducted, this terrorist operation was carried out with the firing of a short-range projectile equipped with a warhead weighing approximately 7 kilograms, accompanied by a powerful explosion, from outside the vicinity of the guests’ residence,” the statement said.

Previously, there were reports that Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran using an explosive device that had been covertly hidden in the guest house where he was staying.

The Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran’s revenge would be “severe” and at an appropriate time, place and manner, sparking fears of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East that is already roiled by the war in Gaza.

“The blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh will be avenged, and the adventurous and terrorist Zionist regime will receive a harsh punishment,” it further said.

Haniyeh, who led Hamas’s political operations from exile in Qatar, was killed after his residence was targeted in Tehran at 2 am on July 31.

The incident happened hours after the Hamas leader attended the inauguration of Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran. Israel has, however, neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.