Israel at War: What you need to know about Ismail Haniyeh's assassination

[View in browser]( [Newsletter Logo] Here's what you need to know 299 days into the war Israel at War: What you need to know about Ismail Haniyeh's assassination Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a missile strike in Tehran. Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the assassination. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei said that avenging Haniyeh's assassination is "Tehran's duty." Israeli authorities announced on Wednesday that the airspace north of Hadera would be closed for 24 hours following Israel's assassination in Beirut of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander. The arrest of eight Israeli soldiers suspected of severely sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee has been extended. Al Jazeera said two of its employees were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Britain's foreign and defense secretaries are in Qatar to push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Israel at War: Get a daily summary of our on-the-ground reporting direct to your inbox [SIGN UP HERE]( Here's what you need to know 299 days into the war: Smokes rises from a fire after a strike from Lebanon in an area near Kibbutz Hagoshrim on the Golan Heights on Tuesday. ■HANIYEH ASSASSINATION: [Hamas has confirmed]( that its political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran early Wednesday morning. In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran." Israel has yet to claim responsibility for Haniyeh's death. - Haniyeh was killed after a guided missile hit the apartment in which he was staying in Tehran, sources told the Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath. An Iranian source told Lebanon's Al Mayadeen that the missile was fired from outside the country. - Hamas' military wing said Haniyeh's killing would "take the battle to new dimensions" and have major repercussions. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya said that "Hamas, Iran and Lebanon will not let the assassination pass quietly." - "Assassinations don't impact Hamas. Hamas fighters have commanders of their own, and they will continue to fight until Sinwar and Hamas leadership tells them that there is a deal," a Gazan source close to Hamas told Reuters. - Iranian President Masou Pezeshkian said that Iran will "defend its territorial integrity…and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act," Iranian media reported. His vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said that Iran has no intention of escalating the Middle East conflict. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that "the killing of Haniyeh will be met with a harsh and painful response," while [Supreme Leader Khamenei said]( that avenging Haniyeh's assassination is "Tehran's duty" because it occurred in the Iranian capital. - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. was not involved in, or made aware of, the intention to assassinate Haniyeh. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it emphasizes U.S. "responsibility" for Haniyeh's assassination because of its support for Israel and that it has "the right to respond appropriately against this aggressive action against its sovereignty." - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the "despicable" assassination, and called on the Palestinian public to "stand tall and show unity, patience and stability in the face of Israeli occupation." - The Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said that Haniyeh's killing in Tehran "broke all rules of engagement." - Qatar's Foreign Ministry said that "the assassination of Haniyeh is a heinous crime, a dangerous act and a clear violation of international and humanitarian laws, and will destroy the possibility of achieving peace." - Egypt said Haniyeh's killing indicates a lack of Israeli political will for de-escalating tensions in the region. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination and blamed Israel for breaking international law and harming regional stability. - Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that "Hamas is a terrorist organization that has carried out countless brutal terror attacks on Israel. The main issue right now is to prevent a regional flare-up, and not to cause the entire region to plunge into chaos." - Russia's Foreign Ministry called on "all parties to refrain from steps that could trigger a large-scale conflict." China and Turkey condemned the assassination and warned it could plunge the region into chaos. "It has been revealed once again that the government of Netanyahu has no intention of achieving peace," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The strikes on Haniyeh and Shukr are not a game-changer. In the past, Israel used targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists or Iranian nuclear scientists as a last resort and as part of a wider strategy. Assassinations were meant to serve meaningful diplomatic aims. But since the beginning of the war, it seems that the doctrine of targeted killing has become an end in itself…[The two killings will only make Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran more stubborn and determined]( - Yossi Melman ■ISRAEL-LEBANON: The Lebanese Health Ministry said that four people were killed and 74 were injured in the Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday evening, adding that one of the fatalities was senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, described by Israel's defense minister as Hezbollah's "chief of staff," and responsible for the rocket strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel which killed 12 children and teens. - Defense Minister Gallant wrote on X that killing Shukr proved that no one can kill Israelis with impunity and that "there is nowhere Israel will not strike in order to exact a heavy price from anyone for harming Israel." In a meeting with soldiers, Gallant said "we don't want a war, but we're preparing for all possibilities, and within that, you need to be ready, and we will do our job in all the ranks above you." - IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi said that Israel "will not accept Hezbollah's presence on the border" and that "returning to October 6 is not the goal." Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the only way to prevent war with Hezbollah is the immediate implementation of UN Resolution 1701 which calls for Hezbollah to retreat beyond the Litani river. - Israeli authorities announced on Wednesday that the airspace north of Hadera would be closed for 24 hours due to the security situation. The decision does not affect Ben-Gurion International Airport. - Ali Ammar, a Hezbollah representative in Lebanon's parliament, said that Israel "demands war and we are up for it, God willing, we are up for it." "We may be on the verge of another escalation in the war, one that could lead to a larger regional conflict. Iran will find it hard not to retaliate for an assassination on its soil. Until now, however, it seemed both Iran and Hezbollah sought to contain the conflict with Israel and prevent it from turning into an all-out war…[Haniyeh's death is expected to have a negative impact on talks for a hostage deal, which have all but hit an impasse since Israel toughened its stance]( – Amos Harel ■ISRAEL: The arrest of 8 Israeli soldiers suspected of severely sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in the Sde Teiman facility has been extended through to Sunday,[a military court decided](. The judge noted that not all those arrested are suspected to have taken part in the abuse in the same way, but were all privy to the "inner circle." The judge further said that "it is forbidden to harm prisoners unnecessarily, however serious the crime they committed is. The law and IDF values state this." - Several Israeli journalists were attacked on Tuesday by a far-right mob protesting the soldiers' arrest. Ilana Curiel, a journalist for Israeli news site Ynet, said that the protesters "[shoved me, spit on me and called me a slut, an 'Arabs' whore,' a traitor]( Ori Isaac, a reporter for Channel 12 News, was also struck, spat on, and verbally attacked by the mob, according to Israeli media watchdog site The Seventh Eye. "Many are saying a civil war is starting. But in practice, the left is virtually uninvolved, and it certainly isn't in the streets. This was a deliberate assault by the far right on state institutions, amid the normalization of multiple behaviors that nobody would have dreamed of accepting a few years ago. On the false grounds of defending soldiers ("our fighters," even though they aren't combat soldiers and aren't even at the front), the right is trying to justify what appears to be severe sexual abuse. [It is also covering for the violent break-ins at both bases, the threats and violence against soldiers and the incitement to harming senior officers]( – Amos Harel ■CEASE-FIRE/HOSTAGES: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatari PM Mohammed Al Thani spoke on the phone about securing a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defense Secretary John Healey are in Qatar to drive efforts to end the conflict in Gaza. "It is absolutely vital that we engage closely with partners like Qatar, who play a key role in mediating the conflict in Gaza, so that we can bring this devastating war to an end," Lammy said. - Qatari PM Al Thani said that "political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" - In a conversation with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Defense Minister Gallant said that Israel is working to achieve an outline that will allow the return of the hostages, and does not intend to escalate the situation in the region any further. - Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held by Hamas in Gaza, said that "we can't let Haniyeh's assassination bring an end to the deal and give a death sentence to our loved ones in captivity. Netanyahu, your responsibility is first and foremost to return those you have failed. Make the deal, with no new conditions or unnecessary obstacles." ■GAZA: Qatari news agency Al Jazeera said that two of its employees, reporter Ismail al-Ghou and photographer Ramy El Rify, were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza while traveling in a car close to the destroyed home of Ismail Haniyeh. - According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 39,445 Palestinians have been killed and 91,073 wounded since the start of the war. ■WEST BANK: An Israeli man in his 50s was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack close to Kiryat Arba in the West Bank, emergency services said, adding that two girls who were with the man in the vehicle at the time of the attack were not hurt. ■IRAQ: The U.S. carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense, U.S. officials told Reuters. Displaced Palestinians leave western Khan Yunis to areas in the eastern parts of the city following reports of Israeli forces withdrawing from the area in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israel declared war after Hamas killed at least[1,200 Israelis]( and wounded more than 3,300 on October 7. In Gaza, the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that at least 39,445 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad hold hostage more than 120[soldiers and civilians]( dead and alive, including foreign nationals. The war comes after ten months of the most significant domestic political and social crisis in decades, due to legislation promoted by the Netanyahu government aimed at dramatically weakening Israel's judiciary and potentially rescuing Netanyahu from the[three corruption trials he faces]( – and amid an escalation of violence between West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers, the latter empowered by Israel's most right-wing government ever. Read more: [People hold up the Palestinian flag and a portrait of Ismail Haniyeh during a rally at Tehran University, Tuesday.]( [Israel's Assassination Policy Only Makes Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran More Determined]( Yossi Melman [Hamas members hold a poster of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh during a protest to condemn his killing, at al-Bass Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday.]( [Haniyeh's Death Is a Blow to Hamas, but History Proves There's Always a Replacement]( Jack Khoury [Families and supporters of Israeli hostages protest at Ben Gurion International Airport earlier in July.]( [Israeli Hostage Families Fear Impact of Haniyeh Killing on Cease-fire Deal]( Jonathan Lis [למטה]( [The 'Response Equation' Between Israel and Hezbollah Is Stretched to Its Limits]( Zvi Bar'el [שריפה כתוצאה ×ž× ×¤×™×œ×ª רקטה בשמורת טבע חורשת טל.JPG]( [Don't Talk to Me About the War]( David Rosenberg [Ismail Haniyeh and Ayatollah Khamenei meeting in Tehran, on Tuesday. Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, killed in Beirut on Tuesday, are the two most senior figures of Hamas and Hezbollah to be killed since the start of the war.]( [Assassinations in Iran and Lebanon Push Mideast to the Edge of a Regional War]( Amos Harel [Israeli far-right MK Zvi Sukkot at Sde Teiman, yesterday.]( [Netanyahu Only Stands to Gain From the Agents of Chaos Who Stormed Two IDF Bases]( Amos Harel [Protesters outside Sde Teiman, in April.]( [Why Israel's Critics Are Wrong to Compare Sde Teiman and October 7]( Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas [Haaretz.com - הארץ]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Newsletter]( [Apple]( [Android]( [Unsubscribe]( from mailing list. For more Haaretz newsletters, [click here](. or contact support: digital-english@haaretz.co.il [Unsubscribe from all mailing lists]( All rights reserved © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. Schocken ­21, Tel - Aviv, ­6653207­, Israel. Company Registration No. ­51-­001544-­9.