MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Israel has killed 12 family members of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, including his children and grandchildren, in the Gaza Strip, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said.
"Zionists, during a recent attack, deliberately eliminated in Gaza over 12 people from Mr. Haniyeh’s family, including his children and underage grandchildren. We are confident that terrorist actions will not impact the Palestinian people’s resolve to liberate their occupied lands," the Iranian envoy said.
The diplomat stressed that "the Israeli regime, during the nine months of its aggression in Gaza, has failed, and, having eliminated over 40,000 innocent Palestinians, including women and children, could not crush the will and resistance of the people of Gaza." "Now this regime has begun terrorizing and eliminating Palestinian leaders," the ambassador concluded.
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. Al Mayadeen said, citing a source, that the missile was launched "from another country, not "from the territory of Iran." Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Mousa Abu Marzook has warned that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered.
A source in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told TASS that the Israeli military is not commenting on Haniyeh's death.