Ismail Haniyeh Buried in Qatar Following Assassination in Tehran

Doha, The Gulf Observer: Hamas’ political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was laid to rest in Qatar following his assassination in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Senior officials of the Palestinian group and other mourners vowed that their fight against Israel would intensify.

Haniyeh’s assassination is the latest in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as Israel’s war on Gaza approaches its 11th month, raising concerns about the conflict spreading across the Middle East.

Both Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of orchestrating Haniyeh’s killing and have pledged retaliation.

Haniyeh was interred at a cemetery in Lusail after a funeral ceremony on Friday at the Imam Mohamed Ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha. His coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was carried in a procession alongside the casket of his bodyguard, who was also killed in the attack in Tehran on Wednesday.

The ceremony was attended by numerous mourners, including Khaled Meshaal, former senior leader and current head of Hamas in the diaspora, other top Hamas officials, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Speaking to Reuters by phone, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said, “Our message to the occupation (Israel) today is that you are sinking deep in the mud and your end is getting closer than ever. The blood of Haniyeh will change all equations.”