Turkiye condemns killing of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran and offered condolences to the Palestinian people.

In a statement released on X, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “We condemn the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau, in a heinous attack in Tehran.”

“We express our condolences to the Palestinian people, hundreds of thousands of whom, like Haniyeh, have been martyred in order to live peacefully in their homeland under the roof of their own state,” it added.

It accused the Israeli government of lacking intention to achieve peace. It said that the attack was aimed at spreading war in Gaza to a regional level. It further said that Turkiye will continue to support the “just cause” of the Palestinian people.

In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The Netanyahu Government’s lack of intention to achieve peace has been demonstrated once again. This attack is also aimed at spreading the war in Gaza to a regional level. If the international community does not act to stop Israel, our region will face an even greater conflict.”

So far, Israel has not issued a statement on the death of the Hamas political bureau chief.

Earlier in the day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in an attack in Iran’s capital, Tehran, Press TV reported.

In a statement, the IRGC said that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their house was hit in Tehran. A projectile hit a residence allocated to war veterans in Tehran at 2 am (local time) on Wednesday, according to a Press TV report.

In a statement to Meher News Agency, the IRGC said, “With condolences to the heroic nation of Palestine and the Islamic nation and the combatants of the Resistance Front and the noble nation of Iran, this morning (Wednesday) the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, was hit in Tehran, and following this incident, he and one of his bodyguards were martyred.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, held a meeting with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. Khamenei took to social media platform X to share pictures of his meeting with Haniyeh.

In a post on X, Khamenei’s office stated, “Imam Khamenei met with Mr. Ismail Haniyah, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, and Mr. Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement.”

In its reply to the post, the Israel Defence Forces posted “Did someone ask for a photo-op of Iran and the leaders of their proxies? Iran’s Khamenei met with Hamas’ Ismail Haniyah and the Islamic Jihad’s Ziyad-al Nakhalah — two of the terrorist organizations who have been attempting to kill Israelis using weapons made and funded by Iran. We can only assume the topics of conversation included how to spend more Iranian money to kill Israelis while wishing Hezbollah’s Nasrallah could join them.”

Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, was in Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a Press TV report.

Earlier in April, three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an air strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force on Wednesday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) informed.

The three sons of the Hamas leader, who were confirmed dead by the Israeli forces, were identified as Amir Haniyeh, a cell commander in the Hamas military wind and Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh.”

On April 10, the IDF said on X, “IAF aircraft struck Amir Haniyeh, a cell commander in the Hamas military wing, and Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh, both Hamas military operatives, in central Gaza today. The IDF confirms that the 3 operatives are the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’ political bureau.”

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence forces also announced that they had eliminated Fuad Shukr “Sayyid Muhsan”, Hezbollah’s Most Senior Military Commander. According to the IDF, Shukr was Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah’s Right-Hand Man and directed Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.

The IDF said he was responsible for the killing of 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel earlier, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years. The IDF said Shukr was also responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs.