Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War

Hamas political boss Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran in the early hours of Wednesday, after the building where he was staying was struck in an attack that the Palestinian group blamed on Israel.
The group said that Haniyeh was killed “in a Zionist airstrike” on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. His death comes a day after Israel targeted Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran also follows a long pattern of assassinations of Palestinian leaders, from Rome to Paris, Beirut to Athens, and from Gaza to Tunis. Israel has rarely claimed responsibility for the killings — though it usually also does not deny its role. And analysts are convinced that these assassinations bear Israel’s stamp, stretching over more than half a century.

From Paris to Beirut: Israel’s long record of assassinating Palestinians

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZWzy6dV_to0

Netanyahu ‘trying to drag US into a regional war’ | Al Jazeera Newsfeed

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=7Qi2Q9ouxDw

The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated in Iran.
He and one of his bodyguards were killed in a strike in Tehran.

Israel’s Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu said the killing of the Hamas leader “makes the world a little better”.
“No mercy for these mortals,” Eliyahu wrote in a post on X.
“The iron hand that will strike them, is the one that will bring peace and a little comfort and strengthen our ability to live in peace with those who desire peace,” he said.

Israeli analyst Akiva Eldar says the Haniyeh assassination will only lead to more bloodshed in the Middle East.
Eldar said the willingness of the US to allow Israeli leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct regional aggression is the main issue at hand.

‘Israel, Lebanon and Iran will have to bury more people’: Israeli political analyst

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=82Xgs7W7HHA

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The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated in Iran.
He was in Tehran to attend the inaugaration of President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has released a statement condemning the assassination as a cowardly act and a dangerous development.
He also called on Palestinians to unite.

Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician and the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said Haniyeh’s assassination marks a “grave development” that could spark a regional war.


Netanyahu’s ‘fascist government’ wants a regional war: Palestinian legislator

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=D3XOhZpc2z8

How will the assassination of Hamas chief Haniyeh impact regional stability?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jk23lmoi548

Ismail Haniyeh, political bureau chief of Hamas, has been killed by Israel in his residence in Iran's capital, Tehran, according to a statement released by the Palestinian group. Joe Siracusa from Curtin University explains.

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/1818582989669900453

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The assassination of Palestinian negotiator #IsmaelHaniyeh in #Iran will have a profound impact on all sides. It will end the negotiations there will be no cease-fire no prisoner-swap. It will once again force Iran to make a high-value response given the grievous blow to their national prestige. It will draw in resistance movements throughout the region and with a real possibility of #Russian #US confrontation. I will talk about this tonight on
@MoatsTV
I knew him from my siege-breaking convoy to #Gaza in 2009. He wanted to give me a #Palestinian passport but had none to hand. So he gave me his own. He was a giant figure whose aura will only grow in the pantheon in which he now stands.

https://x.com/georgegalloway/status/1818643177135305141

https://x.com/dana916/status/1818664901834875362

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Head of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti: "What Israel has done will not break the Palestinian resistance, will not break the Palestinians will to achieve our freedom... our future, our liberation, our freedom, cannot happen without resisting this terrible occupation."

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1818669522091491485

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The last photo of Palestinian journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul was taken during his report from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's home in Al-Shati refugee camp following Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran this morning.

Israeli occupation drones targeted Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, forcing them to evacuate. Moments later, another Israeli drone targeted their vehicle as they were leaving the area, assassinating Ismail and his cameraman Rami Al-Reefi.


https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1818678348903489787

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Breaking | International Federation of Journalists:

⭕️After the killing of journalists Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al-Reefi, how long will the killing of journalists in Gaza continue?

⭕️These crimes against media professionals and journalists in Gaza must stop immediately

⭕️The sooner the International Criminal Court investigates the killing of journalists, the better.

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1818682002016444555

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🇺🇸🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸🗞️ Renowned Al-Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul and photographer Ramy Al-Reef ascended to martyrdom in a cowardly airstrike by US-funded IOF warplanes bombing a group of journalists leaving the rubble of martyr Ismail Haniyeh's home in Shati' camp, northern Gaza Strip, where the people of the camp mourned the martyred leader.

Ismail and Rami were targeted despite clearly-marked press vests. They are the 164th and 165th journalists martyred in the Gaza Strip since October 7th.

Ismail has steadfastly covered developments on the ground since the beginning of the war despite several of his family members ascending to martyrdom. In March, he was abducted by the IOF from Al-Shifa Hospital, where he was brutally beaten and tortured. Yet, Ismail returned to the field and coverage within hours, refusing but to shed light on the crimes of the occupation, even if it meant his life was in danger.

Glory to the martyrs.

RNN

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The Israeli occupation "brought upon itself the most severe punishment," the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of #Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, asserted after the Israeli attack that targeted the Iranian capital of #Tehran, assassinating the head of Hamas' political bureau, Martyr Ismail Haniyeh.

Sayyed Khamenei stressed that retaliation for Haniyeh's blood was "Iran's duty because he was martyred on our soil," adding that the assassination of Haniyeh, who was a guest in Iran, "set the ground for harsh punishment that the enemy brought upon itself".

Speaking about the martyred leader, Sayyed Khamenei said Ha-ni-yeh dedicated his life to the struggle [for liberation], was ready for martyrdom, and sacrificed his children on this path, noting that the "great Resistance Front is in mourning."

Consequently, Iran announced a three-day mourning period.

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BREAKING | Hezbollah announces the assassination of Fuad Shukr, highest military figure in the movement and top war commander, assassinated in the 30 July Israeli bombing of Beirut's southern suburb.

○ One of the main founders of Hezbollah and its military strategy.

○ Military advisor to SG Hassan Nasrallah.

○ Top commander of Al-Aqsa Flood in Lebanon.

○ The late Imad Mughniye's partner in all operations throughout the 80's and 90's.

○ $5 million reward on his head.


https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1818696223370493965

Interesting, interesting!!!

Haniyeh Killing Plotted By Trump & Netanyahu To Make Kamala Lose US Election? Mid-East Expert Says…

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=v79LQfMVDDo

Senior Journalist Dr Waiel Awwad speaks on heightened tensions in the Middle East after the killing of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Awwad, in conversation with Hindustan Times' Subhajit Sengupta, claims that such a targeted killing is a 'clear indication' that it can only be done by Mossad. Awwad also discusses how the incident can lead to a broader regional conflict. Watch this video for more.

Israel Has a History of Killing Hamas Leaders Who Are Trying To Secure Ceasefires

Benjamin Netanyahu’s reckless assassination of Ismail Haniyeh undermines the prospects for a peace deal and the release of the hostages.
MEHDI HASAN
JUL 31



“Israel's leaders killed three birds with one stone,” wrote Reuven Pedatzur, a senior military affairs analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “They assassinated the man who had the power to make a deal with Israel; they took revenge on someone who had caused more than a few Israeli casualties; and they signaled to Hamas that communications with it will be conducted only through military force.”

Was Pedatzur referring to the Israeli assassination of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the group’s political bureau, in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning?

No. Pedatzur died in a road traffic accident in 2014. His quote from Haaretz, above, was in response to the Israeli assassination of another senior Hamas commander, Ahmed Jabari, in November 2012, which kicked off the 2012 Gaza war.

As my former colleague at The Intercept, Jon Schwarz, documented in great detail last year, “Jabari had come to believe that it was in the best interest of Palestinians for Hamas to negotiate a long-term truce” and had been in communication with the respected Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin. “Just before the assassination, [Baskin] gave Jabari a draft proposal for such a truce to review and approve. The draft was agreed to by Baskin and Hamas’s deputy foreign minister, and Baskin also said he had previously shown it to Ehud Barak, then the Israeli minister of defense.”

Would Jabari have signed off on a ‘hudna,’ or long-term truce, between Hamas and Israel? We’ll never know.

Israel, in fact, has a long and cynical history of killing Hamas leaders who are in the midst of ceasefire negotiations or, even, proposing long-term truces with the Jewish state.

Remember Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the quadriplegic co-founder and spiritual leader of Hamas? He was assassinated less than three months after he proposed a long-term truce with Israel “if a Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

His successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, was assassinated less than three months after he made a similar truce offer to Israel.

Then there was the Netanyahu government’s 2012 assassination of Jabari, who, as mentioned, was reviewing a “long-term mutual cease-fire” deal just “hours before he was killed,” according to Baskin.

The parallels between 2012 and 2024, between the killings of Jabari and Haniyeh, are eery.

"He was in line to die, not an angel and not a righteous man of peace,” Baskin said of Jabari shortly after his killing, “but his assassination also killed the possibility of achieving a truce and also the Egyptian mediators’ ability to function.”

The same could be said of Haniyeh. Mainstream Western media outlets agree that the Hamas leader was – by Hamas standards – a “pragmatist”; a key figure in the ongoing negotiations to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and free the Israeli hostages.

From Reuters:

“For all the tough language in public, Arab diplomats and officials had viewed [Haniyeh] as relatively pragmatic compared with more hardline voices inside Gaza, where the military wing of Hamas planned the October 7 attack. While telling Israel's military they would find themselves ‘drowning in the sands of Gaza,’ he and his predecessor as Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, had shuttled around the region for talks over a Qatari-brokered cease-fire deal with Israel that would include exchanging hostages for Palestinians in Israeli jails as well as more aid for Gaza.”

From Sky News:

“Haniyeh was the pragmatic face of Hamas. He was less hard-line and militaristic than Yahya Sinwar, who is the head of Hamas inside Gaza and is leading the battle. Haniyeh was the public face of Hamas's diplomacy in Arab capitals. He was leading efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.”

This was the person that the far-right Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu chose to assassinate on Iranian soil on Wednesday.

Why?

Put simply, Netanyahu and his coalition of fascists and bigots do not want a deal to release the hostages. They prefer to continue the war, no matter the cost to Gaza’s civilians or to their own citizens still held inside of the enclave. Despite Joe Biden’s ludicrous claims to the contrary, it is Netanyahu who has been the biggest obstacle to a deal to free Israel’s hostages in Gaza. The former spokesperson for the hostages’ families says Netanyahu rejected a deal. Benny Gantz, a former member of Israel’s war cabinet, says Netanyahu blocked a deal. Israeli defense officials tell Haaretz that “Netanyahu systematically foiled the negotiations to free the hostages.”

There is nothing new here. To misquote Winston Churchill, Israel has always preferred “war-war” over “jaw-jaw.” Israeli governments – especially those led by Netanyahu – have preferred having Hamas as the permanent enemy – or as an “asset,” to quote the current Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – rather than trying to do a permanent deal with Hamas.

As the late Israeli journalist Pedatzur wrote, in his analysis of the disastrous Jabari assassination in 2012:

“Our decision makers, including the defense minister and perhaps also Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, knew about Jabari’s role in advancing a permanent cease-fire agreement. … Thus the decision to kill Jabari shows that our decision makers decided a cease-fire would be undesirable for Israel at this time, and that attacking Hamas would be preferable.”

Change the name ‘Jabari’ to ‘Haniyeh’ above, and those words could have been written today.

info@zeteonews.com.

https://x.com/IranObserver0/status/1818680559859593608

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🇮🇷🇺🇳Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani: We do not hesitate to use our right to give a decisive and immediate response to the Israeli regime

Iran's representative in the United Nations in a letter to the Security Council and the Secretary General of this organization, while condemning the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh and stating that we do not hesitate to use our inherent right to legitimate defense for a decisive and immediate response. He called for an urgent meeting of the Security Council.

In this letter, Ambassador Irvani stated that the role and responsibility of the United States as a strategic ally and the main supporter of the Israeli regime in the region cannot be ignored in this horrific crime, and added: This action could not have taken place without the permission and intelligence support of the United States.

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https://english.almayadeen.net/news/...eh-s-martyrdom

Oil prices jump after Ismail Haniyeh's martyrdom

Following the report of head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh's martyrdom in Tehran. oil prices soared, with Brent crude rising 1.5% to a little under $80 per barrel.

Oil prices rose, with Brent oil up 1.5% to a little under $80 a barrel as of 12:20 p.m. in Singapore, while it remains down this week. Gold prices also climbed, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg also reported that the Israeli shekel is spiraling towards recording the largest 3-day sell-off in two years.

This reportedly comes amid concerns among traders over the exacerbation of the risk of a regional war in the Middle East following the assassination of Haniyeh.

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps in Iran announced the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, alongside one of his guards in Tehran, on Wednesday.

Hamas confirmed the martyrdom of the Hamas leader, noting that the head of the political bureau was killed in a "treacherous Zionist airstrike on his residence in Tehran."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution and Republic of Iran, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, affirmed, following the Israeli attack that the occupation "brought upon itself the most severe punishment."

Sayyed Khamenei stressed that retribution for Haniyeh's blood is "Iran's duty because he was martyred on our soil," adding that Haniyeh's assassination, who was a guest in Iran, "also set the ground for [the enemy's] harsh punishment upon itself."

Speaking about the martyred leader, Sayyed Khamenei said Haniyeh dedicated his life to the struggle [for liberation], was ready for martyrdom, and sacrificed his children on this path, noting that the "great Resistance Front is in mourning."

Consequently, Iran announced a three-day mourning period.

Aggression on Tehran, Beirut, to spiral escalation with 'Israel': FT

"Israel" may have sent the Middle East into a regional war following its attacks against Resistance leaders in both Lebanon and Iran, an article for the Financial Times warned.

The Israeli occupation raided a residential building in Beirut's Southern Suburb, Lebanon, on Tuesday evening, not only killing three civilians, including two children, but also targeting senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shokor. "Israel" claims Shokor has been killed, but no official word from the Islamic Resistance has confirmed or denied his alleged martyrdom.

In the few hours that followed, the head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated and martyred following an airstrike on his place of residence in Tehran, Iran. "Israel" has not claimed responsibility for the assassination.

According to the Financial Times, the attacks were Benjamin Netanyahu's warning to his enemies and an assurance his settlers could reflect on following months of political turmoil and calls for his resignation.

What Benjamin Netanyahu does not realize, is that this could have possibly been the matchstick that could ignite a regional war in the Middle East.

An attack against Hezbollah and a clear breach of Lebanese sovereignty by "Israel", paired with the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Iran, have raised the stakes to new levels, signifying "Israel's" willingness to double down on all external efforts seeking to de-escalate the situation.

FT said the region now awaits the response of Hezbollah, Iran, and the Axis of Resistance, for the attacks and in retribution for Haniyeh's blood.