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Middle East conflict

Hamas chief to be buried in Doha on August 2, movement confirms

CAIRO, July 31. /TASS/. The Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas has confirmed that the funeral of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated in Tehran, will take place on Friday, August 2, in Qatar’s capital.

"The official public farewell ceremony for Ismail Haniyeh will take place in the Iranian capital on Thursday, August 1," the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel. It noted that "tomorrow, the body of the Hamas leader will be taken from Tehran to Qatar’s capital." The funeral prayer and ceremony will "take place in Doha on Friday, August 2, with residents, Palestinian factions and the leaders of Arab and Islamic states in attendance."

According to the press service of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he will lead the ceremony and prayer at the Tehran University on Thursday morning. Mass rallies supporting Hamas and condemning Israel’s actions are underway in the Iranian capital.

Earlier, 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. The Jerusalem Post said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had advised its ministers not to comment on this issue. The newspaper added that similar recommendations were issued for members of parliament.

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Iran Palestine Gaza Strip

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