Closing summary
The head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group’s political leader was assassinated in Teheran. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on 13 July 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement, which came as crowds gathered in Teheran for the funeral procession of Hamas’ leader Isamil Haniyeh, Reuters reported.
Lufthansa Group has cancelled all its passenger and cargo flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect until 8 August, a spokesperson for the German airline said on Thursday. “The reason for this is the current development in the region,” the spokesperson added.
Israel is prepared for any eventuality following warnings from Iran and its allies of retaliation for the killing of senior leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas, and will respond strongly to any attack, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. “Israel will exact a very high price for aggression against us from whatever quarter,” he told a briefing with journalists, echoing a similar warning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening.
More than 39,480 Palestinians have been killed and 91,128 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
China hopes Palestinian factions can create an independent state as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday while addressing a query on the killing of the Hamas chief in Iran. “China earnestly looks forward to all Palestinian factions, on the basis of internal reconciliation, create an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible,” Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing.
Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters. The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after Ismail Haniyeh’s assasination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah’s senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, calling it intolerable. “That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran,” he said, according to Reuters. “I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that.”
Turkey has blocked cooperation between Nato and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said. Israel carries the status of Nato partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States, Reuters reported.
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has criticised Meta for taking down a Facebook post regarding Ismail Haniyeh’s death, calling on it to “cease this display of cowardice” and accusing it of working as a tool of Israel. Muslim-majority Malaysia is a supporter of the Palestinian cause and Anwar had posted a video recording of his phone call with a Hamas official to offer condolences over Haniyeh’s death, which was later removed, Reuters reported.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Joe Biden will hold a phone call on Thursday and discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, Axios reported on Thursday, citing an official in Netanyahu’s office. It comes as Netanyahu said on Israel is on a “high state of alert”, amid growing expectations that Iran or its allies will retaliate for the killing of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas this week.
The Palestinan Quds News Network has also posted footage of the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his cameraman, Rami al-Rifi, west of Gaza City on Wednesday. A child was also killed in the attack. The two reporters were wearing media vests and there were identifying signs on their vehicle when they targeted, Al Jazeera said.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Middle East crisis live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Joe Biden will hold a phone call on Thursday and discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, Axios reported on Thursday, citing an official in Netanyahu’s office.
It comes as Netanyahu said on Israel is on a “high state of alert”, amid growing expectations that Iran or its allies will retaliate for the killing of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas this week.
“Israel is very prepared for any scenario - both defensively and offensively,” he said, according to remarks released by his office following a visit to the Home Front Command. “We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena.”
Israel is prepared for any eventuality following warnings from Iran and its allies of retaliation for the killing of senior leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas, and will respond strongly to any attack, a government spokesperson said on Thursday.
“Israel will exact a very high price for aggression against us from whatever quarter,” he told a briefing with journalists, echoing a similar warning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening.
Lufthansa Group has cancelled all its passenger and cargo flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect until 8 August, a spokesperson for the German airline said on Thursday.
“The reason for this is the current development in the region,” the spokesperson added.
Turkey has blocked cooperation between Nato and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said.
Israel carries the status of Nato partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States, Reuters reported.
Prior to Israel’s offensive in Gaza - prompted by Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October rampage - Nato member Turkey had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel.
Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel’s operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade. It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Turkey had vetoed all Nato engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of Nato’s founding principles.
Afternoon summary
The head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group’s political leader was assassinated in Teheran. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on 13 July 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement, which came as crowds gathered in Teheran for the funeral procession of Hamas’ leader Isamil Haniyeh, Reuters reported.
More than 39,480 Palestinians have been killed and 91,128 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
China hopes Palestinian factions can create an independent state as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday while addressing a query on the killing of the Hamas chief in Iran. “China earnestly looks forward to all Palestinian factions, on the basis of internal reconciliation, create an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible,” Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing.
Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters. The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after Ismail Haniyeh’s assasination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah’s senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, calling it intolerable. “That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran,” he said, according to Reuters. “I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that.”
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has criticised Meta for taking down a Facebook post regarding Ismail Haniyeh’s death, calling on it to “cease this display of cowardice” and accusing it of working as a tool of Israel. Muslim-majority Malaysia is a supporter of the Palestinian cause and Anwar had posted a video recording of his phone call with a Hamas official to offer condolences over Haniyeh’s death, which was later removed, Reuters reported.
The Palestinan Quds News Network has also posted footage of the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his cameraman, Rami al-Rifi, west of Gaza City on Wednesday. A child was also killed in the attack. The two reporters were wearing media vests and there were identifying signs on their vehicle when they targeted, Al Jazeera said.
Avenging Haniyeh’s assassination was “Tehran’s duty” because it occurred in the Iranian capital and Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself” by killing “a dear guest in our home”, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. The New York Times reported that Khamenei had issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, citing three Iranian officials briefed on the order. It was not possible to verify the report. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honour, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act”.
Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, said Hamas and Iran do not want a regional war, but that Haniyeh’s assassination was a crime that should be punished. In comments at a press conference in Tehran, he also said whoever replaced Haniyeh would “follow the same vision” regarding negotiations to end the war – and continue the same policy of resistance against Israel.
Al-Hayya said that Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him “directly” while he was staying at a guesthouse in Tehran, where he was attending Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Iranian authorities have said they are carrying out an investigation into the “incident”.
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said Haniyeh’s death was a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished”, according to al-Aqsa TV. Another Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has told Reuters that the killing was a grave escalation that will not achieve its goals.
Although Hamas blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing and members of the Israeli government celebrated it, the country made no official comment on his death. “We are not commenting on that particular incident,” spokesperson David Mencer told a briefing with journalists on Wednesday.
Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will “make anyone who is against us pay a very heavy price.” In a televised statement on Wednesday evening, the Israeli prime minister did not mention Haniyeh’s killing, but said his country was “prepared for any scenario” and stood “determined against any threat”.
South Africa’s government on Thursday condemned the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and said it risked plunging the Middle East into further turmoil.
The attack in Iran’s capital Tehran was widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, although its government has not commented. South Africa has been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and likens the plight of Palestinians to that of its own Black population during the apartheid era - a comparison Israel rejects.
“South Africa is concerned that the assassination of Dr Haniyeh and the continuous targeting of civilians in Gaza will further spiral the already tense situation in the entire region,” the government’s department of international relations and cooperation said in a statement.
It conveyed its condolences to Haniyeh’s family and called for an investigation into his killing.
Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.
The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after Ismail Haniyeh’s assasination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah’s senior commander on Tuesday in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Who was Mohammed Deif?
When Israel struck the compound in which Mohammed Deif was staying last month, the Guardian’s Jason Burke wrote this profile of him:
Mohammed Deif is the head of the military wing of Hamas and one of the masterminds of the group’s bloody surprise attack on 7 October which triggered the latest war in Gaza.
Israeli officials said Deif – whose real name is Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri – was the target of Saturday’s airstrike, which levelled several buildings in Khan Younis and killed 90 people, according to local health authorities.
Experienced, capable and utterly committed to the militant Islamist organisation, Deif has survived at least seven Israeli assassination attempts. The question is whether the 58-year-old has survived an eighth. If Israel has killed such a significant figure, this will be chalked up as a major step towards an increasingly elusive victory.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have so far only said the attack was based on “precise intelligence” and “struck” Deif but not that he is dead.
Updated
Some more on Deif’s killing from the Associated Press:
In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said that “following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike.”
In its 10-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, the vast majority crammed into tent camps in the southwest corner of the territory, with limited food and water.
Deif was one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s and led the unit for decades. Under his command, it carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes and built up a formidable arsenal of rockets that could strike deep into Israel and often did.
He remained a mysterious, underground figure in Gaza. He never appeared in public, was hardly ever photographed and only rarely was his voice heard in audio statements. He survived a string of Israeli assassination attempts.
Death of Hamas military leader Deif in July confirmed, Israel says
The head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group’s political leader was assassinated in Teheran.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) announces that on 13 July 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said.
Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Israeli announcement, which came as crowds gathered in Teheran for the funeral procession of Hamas’ leader Isamil Haniyeh, Reuters reported.
Deif is believed to have been one of the masterminds of Hamas’ 7 October attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war, now in its 300th day.
One of Hamas’ most dominant figures, Deif rose through the group’s ranks over 30 years, developing its network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise.
He has topped Israel’s most wanted list for decades, held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
Updated
More than 39,480 Palestinians have been killed and 91,128 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
China hopes Palestinian factions can create an independent state as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday while addressing a query on the killing of the Hamas chief in Iran.
“China earnestly looks forward to all Palestinian factions, on the basis of internal reconciliation, create an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible,” Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing.
Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, calling it intolerable.
“That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran,” he said, according to Reuters. “I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that.”
Here are some images from protests in Tehran after the death of Ismail Haniyeh:
Iran’s Press TV has posted some footage of the funeral:
Massive crowds of mourners taking part in state funeral procession for assassinated Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran pic.twitter.com/cdRucsfeQ6
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 1, 2024
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has criticised Meta for taking down a Facebook post regarding Ismail Haniyeh’s death, calling on it to “cease this display of cowardice” and accusing it of working as a tool of Israel.
Muslim-majority Malaysia is a supporter of the Palestinian cause and Anwar had posted a video recording of his phone call with a Hamas official to offer condolences over Haniyeh’s death, which was later removed, Reuters reported. The wire reported further:
Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has said he has good relations with the Hamas political leadership but no links on a military level.
“Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Meta: Cease this display of cowardice,” Anwar posted on his Facebook page.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said an explanation had been sought from Meta and it was unclear whether the posts were automatically removed, or taken down following a complaint.
The Palestinan Quds News Network has also posted footage of the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his cameraman, Rami al-Rifi, west of Gaza City on Wednesday. A child was also killed in the attack.
The two reporters were wearing media vests and there were identifying signs on their vehicle when they targeted, Al Jazeera said.
Journalists take part in the funeral procession of their colleague Ismail al-Ghoul, killed yesterday in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/AvAbLIxTcr
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 1, 2024
Funeral of Ismail Haniyeh gets underway in Tehran
Ismail Haniyeh’s funeral has got underway with Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya addressing crowds of mourners in Tehran.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers over Haniyeh’s body at Tehran University in the city centre.
Iranian media said a mourning procession would then head towards Azadi Square to the west.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei bids last farewell to the body of Martyr Haniyeh and then speaking with his family members pic.twitter.com/ah28MlWwEU
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 1, 2024
Updated
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Middle East.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead the prayers at the funeral of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Thursday, Iranian media has reported, a day after the Hamas leader was killed in an attack in the Iranian capital, and as the region braces itself for a feared escalation in tension.
After the funeral Hamas has said Haniyeh’s body will be transferred to Qatar’s capital, Doha, for prayers and burial. Iran will hold three days of national mourning.
Meanwhile in Lebanon the funeral of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur will take place, two days after he was killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Beirut that also killed three women and two children and injured dozens of others.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to speak at the funeral. Shukr was an adviser to Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah sources. Israel had blamed him for a strike that killed 12 children, in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, which Hezbollah denied.
Shukr’s body was found under the rubble on Wednesday evening, two Lebanese security sources said, nearly 24 hours after the strike that killed him.
Fears have grown that the assassinations – targeting very high-profile commanders in densely populated capital cities – have killed any chance of an imminent ceasefire in Gaza and that the stakes have been raised for Hezbollah and Iran to reassert themselves.
In other developments:
Avenging Haniyeh’s assassination was “Tehran’s duty” because it occurred in the Iranian capital and Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself” by killing “a dear guest in our home”, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. The New York Times reported that Khamenei had issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, citing three Iranian officials briefed on the order. It was not possible to verify the report. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honour, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act”.
Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, said Hamas and Iran do not want a regional war, but that Haniyeh’s assassination was a crime that should be punished. In comments at a press conference in Tehran, he also said whoever replaced Haniyeh would “follow the same vision” regarding negotiations to end the war – and continue the same policy of resistance against Israel.
Al-Hayya said that Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him “directly” while he was staying at a guesthouse in Tehran, where he was attending Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Iranian authorities have said they are carrying out an investigation into the “incident”.
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said Haniyeh’s death was a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished”, according to al-Aqsa TV. Another Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has told Reuters that the killing was a grave escalation that will not achieve its goals.
Although Hamas blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s killing and members of the Israeli government celebrated it, the country made no official comment on his death. “We are not commenting on that particular incident,” spokesperson David Mencer told a briefing with journalists on Wednesday.
Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will “make anyone who is against us pay a very heavy price.” In a televised statement on Wednesday evening, the Israeli prime minister did not mention Haniyeh’s killing, but said his country was “prepared for any scenario” and stood “determined against any threat”.
Haniyeh’s most likely successor is Khaled Meshaal, his deputy-in-exile who lives in Qatar, analysts and Hamas officials said. Under Meshaal, Hamas emerged as an ever more important player in the Middle East conflict due to his charisma, popularity and regional standing, analysts said.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the US was not involved in or made aware of the assassination of Haniyeh. “This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It’s very hard to speculate,” Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned the killing, Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported. Palestinian national and Islamic factions held a general strike in the occupied West Bank and Palestinians took to the streets in mass demonstrations in response to the assassination.
Qatar’s foreign ministry called the killing a “heinous crime” and “shameful assassination”. Turkey echoed the condemnation. Egypt said Israeli escalation indicated a lack of political will from Israel for de-escalation. Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said he condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the assassination of Haniyeh, calling him a “valiant advocate for his people”.
The UN security council held an emergency meeting in efforts to keep tensions in the region from boiling over. UN chief António Guterres said the airstrikes in Tehran and Beirut were “a dangerous escalation”.
Speaking at the meeting, Palestinian representative Feda Abdelhady Nasser condemned Haniyeh’s killing saying “Violence and terror are Israel’s main and only currency”. She added, “There is no red line for Israel. No law it will not breach, no norm it will not trample. No act too depraved or too barbaric.”
China, Russia, Algeria and others condemned Haniyeh’s assassination, which Iran’s UN ambassador called an act of terrorism. Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN, said failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza was responsible for worsening tensions.
Al Jazeera said two of its journalists were killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in which a child was also killed. The Qatar-based broadcaster has named them as Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifee. More than 100 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza by Israel, which has been accused of deliberately targeting journalists. It denies the accusation.
The UK’s foreign minister, David Lammy, and defence minister, John Healey, travelled to Qatar to help drive efforts to end the conflict in Gaza and call for de-escalation in the wider region, the UK government said on Wednesday.
Updated
