Before an "aerial shell" (airborne projectile) hits the sleeping Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh· who is Iran his residence in Tehran, he may have had good reason to believe that he is safe.
According to Australian media reports on August 1, Haniyeh is attending the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president in Tehran, and he has bodyguards by his side.
Hamas said Haniyeh and one of her bodyguards were in "a perfidious Zionist attack" when they were in a special veterans' housing complex north of Tehran.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday declared a day of mourning and demanded that official Palestinian institutions in the West Bank Jordan flag be flown at half-mast in mourning. He also strongly condemned the assassination and called on the Palestinian people to be united.
In a televised speech from Tel Aviv on Wednesday (July 31), Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had carried out devastating strikes against Iran's proxies, including Hamas and Allah, this week.
However, he did not specifically name Chania's death, and Israel did not declare responsibility for it.
But the day of Chania's attack was also a day of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Just hours before Chaniyeh's killing, the Israel Defense Forces said they had "eliminated" Fuad Shukr, a senior commander ·of the Allah Party, in an airstrike in the Lebanon capital, Beirut.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed that Shukel was behind the rocket attack on the football stadium occupied by Israel in the Golan Heights, but Allah denied the accusation.
Allah confirmed Shukel's death on Wednesday.
Now, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Ali Khamenei says Iran is obliged to retaliate because Haniyeh was assassinated on Iran's territory.
"You have brought you harsh revenge by killing our honored guests in our home," Khamenei said, "and it is our duty to repay the blood debt for our honored guests." ”
According to reports, armed groups in Iran's "axis of resistance", such as Shiite militias in Iraq and Houthis in Yemen, are preparing for a larger attack.
News background: Ismail · Chania
Haniyeh, 62, was born in 1963 in a refugee camp in Gaza.
In 1987, Haniye entered the Islamic University of Gaza to study Arabic literature. In the same year that he entered the school, he followed the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed ·· Ahmed Yassin in founding Hamas.
Chania has been an important member of the movement since the 1980s. He was already highly regarded by the late Yassin, and in 1998 he was appointed chief of staff to represent Hamas in negotiations with the Palestinian self-government and related parties.
Prime Minister Abbas, Chairman of the National Authority of Afghanistan, was appointed Prime Minister of Afghanistan on 21 February 2006 and was unilaterally dismissed by Bass on 14 June 2007.
Haniyeh is widely regarded as the overall leader of Hamas. Compared to other tougher leaders, analysts generally agree that Chaniyeh is more moderate and pragmatic.
He was elected chairman of the Hamas Politburo in 2017 and moved from Gaza to Qatar for permanent residence.
The United States State Department listed Chania as a terrorist in 2018. Israel has said it will target Hamas leaders in the Oct. 7 attacks last year. The targeting of Chaniyeh is clear, and the sharp turn of the Gaza conflict began since the death of Hamas's highest-ranking political official.
Chania has 13 children. On October 17, 2023, Israel attacked Hania's residential area in Gaza, killing 14 people, including Haniyeh's brother and nephew. On 10 April this year, Haniah's three sons, sons and four grandchildren, were killed by Israel near the Shati refugee camp near the Eastern Mediterranean in northern Gaza, Manhattan.
A possible serious escalation of the situation in the Middle East?
Analysts believe that the assassination of two leaders of Iran-backed militant groups within 24 hours could have ignited a powder keg in the Middle East.
On October 7 last year, Hamas led militants across the border into Israel Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and donating 250 hostages to bring back to Gaza.
The Israel minister has vowed to hunt down senior Hamas members and enforce targeted design.
"Let every Arab mother know that if her son was involved in the [Oct. 7] massacre, he would have witnessed her own nuclear weapons order," said David Barnea, the head of Israel Mossad spy agency·
Hamas's top leaders, ·Saleh al-Arouri, were hit by Lebanon first airstrike in January this year.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the assassination, and the government bride simply said that "whoever did it is resentful of Hamas."
In April, missiles were reportedly fired at Israel Afghanistan Iran consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, killing several senior Iran military commanders.
Two assassinations this week in Beirut and Tehran eliminated two of Israel's most immediate enemies.
Fouad Shukel has been described as a right-hand man to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The sophisticated, Iran-backed group is likely to see the assassination of its senior members on its home soil as a provocation and will respond strongly.
It was a humiliation for Haniyeh's attack on Iran for failing to protect veterans living in the capital, especially in residential areas.
"What happened in Tehran is a bad thing for the Iran security agencies...... That's why Iran feels like it has to respond to this," Abas Aslani, a researcher at Tehran'· Center for Middle East Strategy Studies, told Al Jazeera.
"This is not good news for Tehran's security agencies."
Haniyeh's death could also make it more difficult for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Haniyeh is a key figure in Hamas's negotiating team and is reportedly one of those in Hamas's leadership who is a strong supporter of the ceasefire.
He has been described several times as "pragmatic" and maintains good relations with major players in the Middle East, especially Qatar, where he lives.
United States' strategic approach, policy and national approach have recently been trying to end the Gaza fighting agreement.
"How can Focus succeed when one side assassinates a representative of the other side in negotiations? Turkey close relationship Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani · ···· Abdulrahman bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani wrote in a social media post.
Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas's ·deputy in Gaza, said at a news conference in Tehran on Wednesday that Haniyeh's killing was a punishable attack, but that neither Hamas nor Iran wanted a regional war.
Although the chief prosecutor of the U.A.E. International Criminal Court has sought an arrest warrant for Chaniyeh for crimes against humanity in connection with the October 7 attacks, he has been condemned by other Afghanistan political factions and armed groups.
Mu·hammad Shehada, a political analyst in Gaza, said his motive may have been to ensure that Hamas did not side with any Palestinian unity movement.
"Haniyeh supported the unity of the Afghanistan Authority at last week's summit and took a cautious and pragmatic stance in the ceasefire talks," Shehada said.
"He should have been the most capable of convincing [Gaza's leader, Yahya · Sinwar] and influencing his inner circle."
Haniyeh had accused Israel of ceasefire talks, saying Israel had failed to end the war.
The Government of Israel may have planned to use his death as an example of what it has achieved, while its goals in Gaza, such as the release of hostages and the destruction of Hamas, have been achieved.
Now, major players such as United States are actively working to control the consequences.
Experts believe that Haniah's death will not deplete Hamas's strength and will not restore stability.
"Hamas is a concept and an institution, not an individual. Whatever the sacrifices made, Hamas will continue on this path, and we are confident of victory," Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters ·· Sami Abu Zuhri.
In a televised address, Netanyahu said: "We are prepared for any situation, and we will stand together and bravely stand up to any threat." ”
"Israel will make any act of aggression against us pay a heavy price."
While Hamas will continue to advance without Chania, the prospect of a ceasefire seems increasingly slim in the short term, and the likelihood of a regional war may also increase.
Reaction from all sides
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was neither aware of nor involved in the attack. At the same time, he called for continued efforts to pursue ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan posted a message of condolences on his social media account for Chania's "martyrdom as a result of an evil assassination" and cordially asked Chania's loved ones.
"I strongly condemn Tehran's assassination of Hamas Politburo Chairman Ismail · Chania."