Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehranaccording to Hamas and Iranian media on Wednesday (31), was a former political leader of the armed Palestinian group.
The killing of the Hamas political leader is the “first significant Israeli operation since October 7,” said the political and foreign policy analyst at CNN Barak Ravid.
The Israeli military told the CNN who “do not respond to foreign media reports” after Iranian state media reported Haniyeh’s death.
While Haniyeh is not militarily significant, he is responsible for the group’s international relations and is the main interlocutor with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, Ravid said.
“His assassination will have significant influence on these negotiations,” he said.
The Israeli government views Haniyeh as one of those responsible for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to Ravid, and Israeli authorities have vowed to hunt down those responsible for the 10-month-old attack that has now plunged the Middle East into conflict.
“This assassination is, in some ways, just a matter of when, not a matter of if,” Ravid said.
The 62-year-old was born in a refugee camp near Gaza City and joined Hamas in the late 1980s during the First Intifada, or uprising.
As Hamas grew in power, Haniyeh rose through the ranks, being named part of a secret “leadership collective” in 2004 and then appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in 2006.
In 2017, he became head of the group — and was named a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States soon after.
Over the years, he has participated in peace talks with former US President Jimmy Carter and met with other world leaders, including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian earlier this year.
In April, Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh’s children and four grandchildren, according to Hamas.
At the time, Haniyeh – who was based in Qatar – insisted their deaths would not affect ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
“Anyone who thinks that attacking my children during negotiations and before a deal is reached will force Hamas to back down on its demands is delusional,” he said.
(With information from Kathleen Magramo, from CNN )
Source: CNN Brasil
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