The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was mysteriously martyred in a missile attack in Iran, for which Israel is being held responsible.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered a direct attack on Israel to avenge Ismail Haniyeh’s martyrdom.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first address after the martyrdom of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh, said that Israel has given a lesson to its enemies.
However, he did not mention the Hamas leader’s assassination in Tehran.
In fact, the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh does not seem to fulfill the dream of the U.S. and Israel to bring a compliant and compromising personality in his place to serve their interests.
After the martyrdom of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, questions have arisen about the future of Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. have been key mediators in the talks between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.
However, following the martyrdom of the Hamas leader, Qatar and Egypt have raised questions about the future of these negotiations. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani expressed on his social media platform, X, that political assassination and the continuous targeting of civilians in Gaza while negotiations are ongoing forces us to ask: how can mediation succeed when one party kills the negotiator of the other side? Undoubtedly, Netanyahu is ruthless, and global institutions and powerful countries are supporting this ruthless individual.
For those who claim and ensure freedom of expression and media, this is the worst time. The martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh is an irreparable loss; he was a strong voice for the oppressed Palestinians and sacrificed everything for the Palestinian liberation movement.
These events will not weaken the resistance front but will push it forward with more vigor.
On the other hand, Israeli terrorism is increasing day by day.
It is clear that Pakistan will never recognize Israel because Pakistan is an Islamic ideological state, while Israel has illegally occupied Palestine and is killing innocent people.
No matter how hard Israel tries, it can never defeat the Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack on Ismail Haniyeh and his killing, calling it a cowardly act.
He stated that the killing of Haniyeh is a cowardly act and will worsen the situation in the region.
He urged Palestinians to remain united, patient, and steadfast against the Israeli occupation.
In a press conference in Tehran after the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya stated that Haniyeh spent his entire life in difficult circumstances in various countries, and they will not rest until they respond to his martyrdom.
Israel has attempted to assassinate Ismail Haniyeh several times in the past. The first time was in 2006 when Haniyeh was Prime Minister. Israeli military helicopters targeted his office, injuring three of his guards, but Haniyeh escaped as he had left the office moments earlier.
Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, has reportedly made several assassination attempts in Qatar and Turkey as well.
Israel has also targeted Haniyeh’s home in the Al-Shati refugee camp multiple times.
During the recent massacre in Gaza, the Zionists martyred 60 members of his family, including his three sons, five grandchildren, and his sister.
Despite these attacks, many diplomats considered him a moderate compared to the more hardline members of the group.
Haniyeh was leading Hamas’s political battle with Arab governments and was active on the political and diplomatic front for Hamas.
After being appointed to Hamas’s highest position in 2017, Haniyeh frequently traveled between Turkey and Doha, Qatar, allowing him to evade travel restrictions imposed by the blockade on Gaza and enabling him to engage in negotiations during the war and discussions with Hamas’s ally, Iran.
Following Hamas’s attack on October 7, Haniyeh announced on Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV that signing normalization agreements with Israel would not end the conflict. Hamas stated that on April 10, three of Haniyeh’s sons, Hazm, Amir, and Mohammed, were martyred in an Israeli airstrike.
In that attack, Haniyeh also lost his three granddaughters and a grandson. When asked if the martyrdom of his sons would affect ceasefire negotiations, Haniyeh denied Israeli claims that his sons were fighters, emphasizing that the interests of the Palestinian people are above everything.
As a young man in Gaza City, Haniyeh was an activist at the Islamic University and joined Hamas when the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) began in 1987. He was briefly exiled after being arrested.
By 2003, Haniyeh was a trusted aide to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. He was photographed holding a phone to the ear of the paralyzed Sheikh Yassin at his destroyed home in Gaza to enable him to participate in conversations.
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was martyred by Israel in 2004. Haniyeh was an early advocate for Hamas’s entry into politics, becoming Sheikh Yassin’s personal secretary and office head in 1997.
He was arrested for leading demonstrations during the first Intifada in 1988 and was jailed for six months.
He was arrested again in 1989 and exiled to Lebanon in 1992, returning to Gaza after the Oslo Accords.
In 2006, following Hamas’s electoral victory, Haniyeh was appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. Due to the conflict between Hamas and Fatah, this government did not last long, but Hamas maintained control over Gaza with Haniyeh as its leader.
He became Hamas’s political head in 2017, succeeding Dr. Khaled Meshaal, becoming the face of Palestinian international diplomacy.
Since 2023, he had been residing in Qatar. In 1994, he suggested that forming a political party would help Hamas deal with emerging situations, a proposal initially rejected but later accepted, leading to Hamas’s electoral success in 2006 after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
In 2012, when Reuters reporters asked if Hamas had abandoned armed struggle, Haniyeh firmly replied, “Absolutely not,” asserting that resistance in all forms—public, political, diplomatic, and military—would continue.
Global powers should condition arms sales and military and security assistance to Israel on verifiable steps by Israeli authorities to cease these crimes. They should review their agreements, cooperation plans, and all trade and relations with Israel to identify activities directly contributing to crimes, affecting human rights, and cease funding that supports such severe violations.
The recent months have seen the killing of 40,000 people and the destruction of infrastructure by the brutal Israeli army, raising questions about global peace.
People of different faiths are protesting worldwide in the name of humanity, and global powers must notice the flowing blood and the voices of thousands protesting against this unjust bloodshed.
This oppression has been ongoing in Palestine for decades and is pushing the world towards a global conflict.