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Middle East conflict

UN Security Council set for emergency session on July 31 after Haniyeh’s assassination

"Following a request from Iran that was supported by China, Algeria and Russia, and serving as the rotating chair in the UNSC, we scheduled an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the assassination in Tehran of Hamas Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh for 23:00 Moscow time on July 31," Dmitry Polyansky said

© Valery Sharufulin/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, July 31. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council will convene for an emergency meeting on July 31 regarding the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said.

"Following a request from Iran that was supported by China, Algeria and Russia, and serving as the rotating chair [in the UNSC], we scheduled an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the assassination in Tehran of Hamas Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh for 4:00 p.m. New York time (23:00 Moscow time) on July 31," Polyansky wrote on his Telegram channel.

Earlier, the Palestinian movement Hamas said that Haniyeh had been killed in an Israeli strike targeting the residence he was staying at in Tehran, where he had arrived for the inauguration of the country's president-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Al Hadath TV channel reported that Haniyeh was killed in a direct missile strike. Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzook has warned that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered. Israeli authorities declined to comment to CNN on Haniyeh's death.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.

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