Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' Political Bureau, was assassinated in Tehran, where he had attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Hamas announced that Haniyeh was martyred in an airstrike on his residence in Tehran after the ceremony.
Ismail Abusselam Ahmed Haniyeh was born in Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp to a family forcibly exiled from occupied Ashkelon. During his childhood, Yasser Arafat's Palestinian movement was intensifying its struggle against Israeli aggression. Haniyeh was deeply involved in the fight for Palestinian independence growing up, just like his peers.
During his university years, he met the people whom he would later found Hamas with. He actively participated in the First Intifada. He was detained by Israeli forces in 1989, and was imprisoned for three years.
Hamas, committed to the liberation of Palestinian territories and the establishment of an independent state, has been a constant target of Israeli aggression. Leaders such as Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, whom Haniyeh closely worked with, and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi were assassinated. Haniyeh survived several attempts on his life, including one in Israeli prisons in the late 1980s and several others afterward. In 2003, he narrowly escaped an Israeli attack targeting several Hamas leaders.
In 2006, during armed clashes between Fatah and Hamas, Haniyeh's convoy was attacked in Gaza. More recently, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have targeted his home in another assassination attempt.
After Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's martyrdom, Haniyeh emerged as a prominent Hamas figure.
Haniyeh was known for his modest lifestyle, intellectual capacity, and sincerity. Like many Palestinians, he experienced Israeli imprisonment and exile at a young age. After his release, he was exiled to Lebanon with other Hamas leaders but managed to return a year later.
The 2006 Palestinian elections were pivotal for Hamas. With Khaled Mashal in exile, Haniyeh led the "Change and Reform" bloc to a parliamentary victory, and President Mahmoud Abbas appointed him Prime Minister. However, following armed conflicts between Hamas and Fatah, Abbas removed Haniyeh from his position in 2007.
Haniyeh served as Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip for many years before Yahya Sinwar succeeded him in 2017. On May 6, 2017, Haniyeh was elected head of Hamas' Political Bureau, replacing Khaled Mashal. The U.S. State Department listed him as a terrorist on January 31, 2018, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Palestinians due to President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
During Israel's brutal attacks on Gaza, which began on October 7, Haniyeh's home on Gaza City's western coast was bombed. On November 10, 2023, his grandson was martyred in an Israeli bombardment targeting a school for the displaced in Gaza City.
On April 1, 2024, Israeli police arrested one of Haniyeh's sisters on charges of communicating with Hamas members.
On April 10, 2024, Israeli forces assassinated Haniyeh's sons and grandchildren, targeting their cars during Ramadan. Haniyeh lost his sons Hazem, Amir, and Mohammed, and his four grandchildren in the attack while he was visiting injured Palestinians in Doha, Qatar.
Demonstrating immense patience, Haniyeh declared that his children sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"All of our people, all families in Gaza have suffered great loss, and I am one of them," he said.
