Assassinated Hamas Leader, Ismail Haniyeh, Said Over 50 Relatives Killed Since Oct. 7 Attack—Will Iran Retaliate?

Ismail Haniyeh, one of the chief operatives of Hamas, has been killed at age 62 in Iran. Haniyeh had been a critical member of Hamas, having led the group through elections and prior conflict with Israel. Haniyeh was one of their chief negotiators, leading the recent indirect ceasefire talks with Israel. He was known as one of the most pragmatic voices inside Hamas by Arab leaders.

Who Was Ismail Haniyeh?

Haniyeh had been in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Just hours before his death, he had met with the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Both Hamas and Iran declared his death an assassination at the hands of Israel. He had previously survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003.

Haniyeh had been involved with Hamas since its creation in 1988 and served numerous sentences in Israeli prisons around the same time. He was placed on the Specially Designated Global Terrorists List by the US State Department in 2018. He was named in an arrest warrant placed by the International Criminal Court regarding the October 7 attack against Israel. However, Haniyeh's level of involvement with the October 7th attacks is unknown and unverified, as he primarily served as a negotiator, diplomat, and head of finances for Hamas.

Family Members Targeted by Israel

The political leader had suffered several deeply personal losses in the struggle between Israel and Hamas, with several of his children and grandchildren killed in various attacks leading up to his death.

In 2014, Haniyeh's family home in Gaza was destroyed in an airstrike, part of what prompted his relocation between Qatar and Turkey.

In October 2023, he lost 14 family members due to an Israeli airstrike on their family home in Gaza City. The following month, he lost his granddaughter and eldest grandson in two separate Israeli attacks.

On April 10, three of his adult sons and four of his grandchildren were killed while driving in a car by an Israeli airstrike. A few months later, on June 25, the al-Shati refugee camp was struck by Israel, killing his elderly sister, her husband, and their eight children.

Following the death of his sister, Haniyeh said, "We shall not give in, no matter the sacrifices."

Haniyeh revealed that he had lost over 60 family members throughout the conflict after saying, "All our people and all the families of Gaza residents have paid a heavy price with the blood of their children, and I am one of them."

International Responses

Haniyeh's death has sparked outrage among Palestinians and Iranians, having lost one of their most critical leaders. Iran is widely known to back and fund Hamas and blamed Israel for the attack on Haniyeh, vowing to avenge his death. Israeli forces have yet to comment on Haniyeh's death despite having openly killed Fuad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut on Tuesday. Shukr was a senior member of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed military group actively combatting Israeli forces.

Both attacks, but particularly Haniyeh's death, have been met with outrage across Iran. An Iranian spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry said that the attack will only "strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between the Islamic Republic of Iran and dear Palestine and the resistance."

Qatar, Egypt, Russia, and Turkey have also spoken out against the attack, calling it a "dangerous escalation" of the existing conflict and saying that it is clear that Israel has "no intention of achieving peace."

Fearing the Future

These responses, particularly that of Iran, have sparked worldwide fears of potential escalation beyond the existing parameters of the conflict. Experts fear for Iran's economic condition if they were to fully engage in war with Israel, one saying "a war against Israel, even a low-intensity one, could have unbearable costs for Iran's anaemic economy."

There is also the concern of worsening the existing humanitarian crisis in the region, with over 40,000 lives already lost. Around 39,000 Palestinians and a little over 1,000 Israeli citizens have been killed thus far, with the death toll only increasing by the day. Exaggerated conflict would be detrimental to citizens on both sides.