Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian organization Hamas, was martyred in a malicious attack in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Hamas says that Ismail Haniyeh has been targeted by Israel.

 

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian organization Hamas, was martyred in a malicious attack

Ismail Haniyeh was a moderate figure with an aggressive position in the international embassy in Gaza, whose martyrdom will seriously damage the cause of Hamas at the international level. Despite Ismail Haniyeh's harsh rhetoric, he was considered by many diplomats to be more moderate than hardline Gazan leaders Mohammad Deaf and Yahya Sinwar.

The operation in Tehran came hours after Israel launched an attack in Beirut targeting the headquarters of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group and political movement Hezbollah. Ismail Haniyeh has been living in Turkey and Qatar due to travel restrictions in Gaza, and since the Gaza war, he has been visiting Egypt for talks. After the start of the Gaza war in October last year, Ismail Haniyeh visited Tehran in November and also met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ismail Haniyeh was leading the political war for Hamas with the Arab countries and he was the political and diplomatic face of Hamas.

Ismail Haniyeh was a leader of the student movement at the Islamic University of Gaza and joined the organization after the establishment of Hamas in 1987. After joining Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh was arrested by Israeli forces and deported from Gaza for some time. Initially, Ismail Haniyeh wanted Hamas to enter the political arena. In 1994, he said that the formation of a political party would enable Hamas to deal with emerging changes on the world scene.

Ismail Haniyeh was a strong supporter of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas. Talking to Reuters in 1994, he said that Sheikh Yassin is a role model for young Palestinians from whom we have learned to love Islam. The founder of Hamas also likes the family of Ismail Haniyeh, who hailed from the village of al-Jurah near Ashkelon. Ismail Haniyeh quickly gained Sheikh Yassin's trust and in 2003 was appointed an adviser to the head of Hamas.

After the death of Sheikh Yassin in an Israeli attack in 2004, a leadership crisis arose in Hamas. But in 2006, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, Hamas gained a clear lead in the elections, and Ismail Haniyeh was elected as the Prime Minister. And the very next year, 2007, Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip.

In 2012, when Ismail Haniyeh was asked if Hamas had given up its armed struggle. In response to which Haniyeh said that of course not, the resistance will continue in political, diplomatic and military form.

After the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, other leaders of Hamas have reacted strongly. The leader of Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, has said that we are fighting an open war to liberate Jerusalem, and we are ready to pay any price for Jerusalem.

The spokesman of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Maher al-Tahir, has said that the enemy Israel has crossed all the red lines, Israel has pushed matters towards an all-out war, and the resistance organizations are fully prepared for war. He said that Shaheed Ismail Haniyeh gave his most valuable property for the cause of Palestine, Palestinians are ready to offer everything dear and valuable for their cause. He gave a strong reaction and said that the Israeli government will regret the sin of killing Ismail Haniyeh and attacking Iranian sovereignty. The killing of Martyr Ismail Haniyeh could not have happened without American help. We promise Haniyeh that we will continue the struggle and resistance.

It is a fact that the determination of the Palestinians who faced Israeli atrocities did not decrease after immense sacrifices. Of course, Ismail Haniyeh has been martyred, but this freedom movement will continue and the Palestinians will not retreat until the end of Israeli atrocities. The iron determination of the Palestinians cannot be defeated.