F-16s no ‘magic pill’ for Kiev – Kremlin

FILE PHOTO: The Spasskaya Tower, right, and the Tsarskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
©Sputnik/Natalia Seliverstova

The recent reported delivery of Western F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will not have a significant impact on the battlefield and Kiev must be aware of this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

His statement comes after Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the first batch of US-made jets had arrived in Ukraine. It is not yet clear which country supplied the aircraft, but the outlet noted that the number of warplanes was “small.”

Commenting on the report, Peskov stressed that there is no “magic pill” for Kiev and that it will not have this “panacea” for long.

“These planes will appear, their number will gradually decrease, they will be shot down and destroyed,” the Russian presidential spokesman said. The jets “will not be able to significantly influence the dynamics of events at the front,” Peskov added.

Kiev has yet to confirm or deny the delivery of the jets. The spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Diana Davityan, has declined to comment on the issue altogether.

Previously, a number of NATO states, including the US, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden, formed a so-called ‘F-16 coalition’, pledging to provide Kiev with the American-made fighter jets as well as to train Ukrainian pilots to operate the aircraft.

Moscow, however, has repeatedly warned that the jets, like all other Western weapons provided to Kiev, would fail to change the inevitable outcome of the conflict, and that the Russian military would destroy these planes like all other Ukrainian military hardware.

The delivery of F-16 jets to Kiev will not be able to significantly influence the dynamics of events at front as all the aircraft will be shot down and destroyed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, media reported about the delivery of several F-16 jets to Ukraine. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine will not comment on reports about the arrival of F-16 fighters.

"These jets will appear, their number will gradually decrease, they will be shot down, destroyed, but of course these supplies will not be able to significantly affect the dynamics of events at the front," Peskov said, answering a question whether the Kremlin expects that the supply of fighters will affect the balance of power.

There were no official statements from Kiev about receiving the F-16 aircraft, there were only media reports, the spokesman said.

First US-made F-16s arrive in Ukraine – Bloomberg

The first batch of US-made F-16 fighter jets has arrived in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The number of warplanes is “small,” sources told the outlet on condition of anonymity. Kiev has yet to comment on the reported delivery.

The origin of the aircraft is not yet clear. Last year, a group of NATO states, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden, formed the so-called ‘F-16 coalition’. Greece, the US, Bulgaria, and France later joined.

FILE PHOTO. ©Getty Images/guvendemir

While some countries, including the Netherlands and Denmark, pledged to provide Kiev with 24 and 19 aircraft respectively from their own stocks, others committed to training Ukrainian pilots.

Norway has also recently stated that it would donate six fighter jets to Kiev.

According to the sources cited by Bloomberg, a delivery deadline set for the end of this month has been “respected.” Earlier in July, the outgoing Dutch government said all preparations for the delivery of F-16s had been finished and the transfer would take place “soon.”

It is unclear whether the Ukrainian pilots trained to operate the aircraft by Kiev’s Western backers can immediately make use of the warplanes, Bloomberg noted.

A spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Diana Davityan, declined to comment on the issue when contacted by the news outlet.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that F-16s, just like the other Western weapons provided to Kiev, will not change the outcome of the conflict. The Russian military will destroy the planes as it has done with other Ukrainian hardware, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this year.

Last week, Kiev’s top military commander, Colonel General Aleksandr Syrsky, admitted to The Guardian that the Ukrainian military would have to limit the use of F-16s to avoid them being shot down by Russian forces. Moscow has “superior aviation” and “very strong” air defenses, the general said at that time, adding that the US-made aircraft would have to stay dozens of kilometers away from the front lines to avoid serious risk.

A private Russian company earlier offered a bounty of 15 million rubles ($170,000) for the destruction of the first F-16 in the conflict.

Russia has on multiple occasions warned that the ever-increasing level of support that Western states are providing to Kiev will only prolong the conflict and human suffering. Continued deliveries of ever-heavier weapons to Ukraine also make Kiev’s Western backers de facto participants of the conflict, it said. Top officials in Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin, have referred to the Ukraine crisis as a proxy war waged by Washington and its NATO allies against Russia.

Funeral for Slain Hamas Leader Haniyeh in Qatar

Shattered hope’ in Gaza as crowds gather for Haniyeh’s Doha funeral

Hope for ceasefire among Palestinians in Gaza “shattered” after assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, whose funeral is set to kick off in Doha in the coming hours.

The high-level delegation of Fatah in the funeral procession comes in the context of the fact that Israel’s policy of political assassination is long-standing.

All political factions in Palestine have been touched and really scarred by that, including, of course, Fatah.

So, the political assassination of Haniyeh required that all political differences and splits be set aside and that the rhetoric of unity takes centre stage. That is what the Palestinian public expects.

Palestinians are very much affected, saddened and also enraged by this assassination, understanding that it will impact their lives no matter where they live.

In contrast to the pictures we’re seeing now in Qatar, where you have dignitaries and ordinary people attending the funeral procession, people here in the occupied West Bank, most likely won’t be coming out in their thousands, and that’s because of two reasons.

On the one hand, Israel fragments the occupied West Bank with over 500 military checkpoints. On the other, Israel is pursuing Palestinians, even for expressing empathy with fellow Palestinians on social media platforms.

It has detained thousands of Palestinian activists from all factions.

There is real fear here among Palestinians to express what they really feel, which is anger and fury at this point.

‘Thousands’ pay respects to Haniyeh at Doha mosque

The Jummah (Friday) prayer has been performed in Doha’s Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque and the funeral prayer [for Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh] has just started. People are paying their final respects to the former political head of Hamas.

Right when this prayer is over, Haniyeh’s body, probably escorted by thousands and thousands of people now attending the prayer, will be taken to the Lusail royal cemetery north of Doha.

The security measures are extreme here because there are going to be dozens and dozens of state dignitaries from all around the world, particularly from Islamic countries. In addition, the leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Islamic Jihad, are going to be here. … Haniyeh’s family is here too to pay their respects.

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Russian troops wipe out three US-made Patriot missile launchers in Ukraine operation

Russia’s Battlegroup South repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack and inflicted roughly 570 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day

©Alexey Konovalov/TASS

Russian troops destroyed three US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile launchers, an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) control post and Ukrainian army trains over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck three US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile launchers, an UAV control post and trains with personnel and ammunition, massed enemy manpower and military equipment in 147 areas," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Battlegroup North strikes four Ukrainian army brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North struck four Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 280 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 42nd mechanized, 92nd assault, 112th and 127th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Porozok in the Sumy Region, Liptsy, Staritsa and Volchansk in the Kharkov Region. They repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 57th motorized infantry and 36th marine infantry brigades," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 280 personnel, two motor vehicles, a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer and a 122mm D-30 howitzer, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts 535 casualties on Ukrainian troops over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West struck seven Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 535 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup West units improved their forward edge positions and inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 14th, 63rd, 115th and 116th mechanized, 3rd assault and 107th territorial defense brigades and nationalists of the 12th Azov brigade [outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization] near Kupyansk and Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region, Nadiya and Makeyevka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic and in the Serebryanka forestry area. During the last 24-hour period, they repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the 117th territorial defense brigade," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 535 personnel, a tank, a US-made HMMWV armored vehicle and six motor vehicles, it specified.

In counterbattery warfare, Russian troops destroyed a Grad multiple rocket launcher, a US-made 155mm M198 howitzer, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, a 122mm D-30 howitzer and a British-made 105mm L119 artillery gun, the ministry said.

In addition, Russian troops destroyed Khortitsa-M and Bukovel-AD electronic warfare stations and two field ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicts 570 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack and inflicted roughly 570 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup South units gained more advantageous frontiers and positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 23rd, 24th, 28th and 33rd mechanized, 144th infantry, 79th air assault and 116th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Novy, Chasov Yar, Annovka, Yelizavetovka, Katerinovka and Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They repelled a counterattack by formations of the Ukrainian army’s 5th assault brigade," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 570 personnel and three motor vehicles, it specified.

In counterbattery warfare, Russian troops destroyed a US-made M270 MLRS multipurpose multiple launch rocket system, a US-made 155mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system, two US-made 155mm M777 howitzers, a 152mm Msta-B howitzer, three 152mm D-20 howitzers, three 122mm D-30 howitzers and a British-made 105mm L119 artillery gun, it specified.

During the last 24-hour period, Russian forces also destroyed two Nota electronic warfare stations and five field ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center strikes five Ukrainian brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center improved its tactical position and inflicted casualties on five Ukrainian army brigades in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Center units improved their tactical position and inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 31st and 32nd mechanized, 1st tank, 109th and 111th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Toretsk, Novgorodskoye, Rozovka, Kalinovo and Vozdvizhenka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center repels ten Ukrainian counterattacks over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center repelled ten Ukrainian army counterattacks in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

Battlegroup Center units "repelled ten counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 47th, 53rd, 100th, 110th and 151st mechanized, 68th jaeger, 25th air assault and 95th air assault brigades and the Lyut assault brigade of the Ukrainian national police," the ministry said.

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 365 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 365 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"The enemy’s losses amounted to 365 personnel, two pickup trucks and a 152mm Msta-B howitzer," the ministry said.

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 125 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted roughly 125 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy electronic warfare station in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units improved their forward edge positions and inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized, 58th motorized infantry, 116th territorial defense and 21st National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Vodyanoye, Zolotaya Niva and Storozhevoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 125 personnel, seven motor vehicles, a 152mm D-20 howitzer, a 122mm D-30 howitzer, a British-made 105mm L119 artillery gun and a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station, it specified.

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr strikes four Ukrainian brigades over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr struck four Ukrainian army brigades and inflicted roughly 90 casualties on enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Dnepr units inflicted casualties on formations of the Ukrainian army’s 117th mechanized, 128th mountain assault, 121st and 124th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Orekhov and Pyatikhatki in the Zaporozhye Region, Osokorovka, Tokarevka and Antonovka in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in that frontline area over the past 24 hours amounted to 90 personnel, five motor vehicles, a US-made 155mm M777 howitzer and a field ammunition depot, it specified.

Russian air defenses destroy 61 Ukrainian UAVs, 14 HIMARS rockets over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down 61 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 14 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day, the ministry reported.

"During the last 24-hour period, air defense capabilities shot down a US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missile, 14 US-made HIMARS rockets and 61 unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said.

Overall, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 631 Ukrainian warplanes, 278 helicopters, 28,795 unmanned aerial vehicles, 559 surface-to-air missile systems, 16,734 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,395 multiple rocket launchers, 12,666 field artillery guns and mortars and 24,250 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

At least 15 Palestinians killed in Israeli Terrorists strike on Gaza school

At least 15 victims were killed, including two children, and 40 others injured Thursday in an Israeli Terrorist airstrike that targeted a school-turned-shelter in the Shejaiya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

“The Israeli occupation forces targeted the Dalal al-Maghribi School, which was housing displaced people, with three missiles, completely destroying it,” Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mamdouh Basal, said in a video message.

The Israeli terrorists army acknowledged the strike on the school it claimed was used as a hideout by Hamas fighters and leaders.

“Based on IDF (army) intelligence, the Israeli fighter jets struck terrorists operating inside a compound within the Dalal School in the area of Shejaiya in Gaza City,” according to a statement.

Hamas has not issued a response to the claims by Israel Terrorists.

Israel Terrorists, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

Nearly 39,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli Terrorists war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Zionis Israel Terroristis accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Al Jazeera rejects Israeli army claims killed journalist was Hamas member

Earlier today, Israel’s army spokesperson confirmed an air strike targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his colleague Rami al-Rifi in Gaza on Wednesday.

The spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, claimed that al-Ghoul was a Hamas member and took part in the October 7 attack on Israel.

Al Jazeera Media Network strongly refutes the baseless allegations made by the Israeli occupation forces in an attempt to justify its deliberate killing of our colleague.

The Israeli occupation forces had previously abducted Ismail on March 18 during their raid on al-Shifa Hospital, detaining him for a period of time before his release, which debunks and refutes their false claim of his affiliation with any organisation.

The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent, without providing any proof, documentation or video, and highlights Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes, while also denying journalists from around the world access to the Gaza Strip to report on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.

Al Jazeera Media Network calls for an independent international investigation into the brutal and heinous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against its journalists and staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza.

Hezbollah, Iran likely to respond in separate attacks

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, says Hezbollah and Iran will likely respond to Terrorists Israel’s killing of their officials in separate attacks.

“Judging from Nasrallah’s speech, he seems to insist that there is no doubt that Hezbollah will respond to Shukr’s assassination, but he did not mention Haniyeh in that particular threat or warning,” Bishara said.

“This has been understood to mean that Iranians will respond to Haniyeh’s assassination and Hezbollah will respond to its own.”

This doesn’t mean that the two attacks won’t be coordinated, Bishara said.

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Hezbollah leader says war with Israel has entered 'new phase' after killings of top militant figures

Hezbollah fighters stand behind the coffin of their top commander Fuad Shukr.(AP Photo: Hussein Malla)

The leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has warned that the conflict with Israel has entered a "new phase", as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli air strike this week in Beirut.

In Beirut's southern suburbs, hundreds of black-clad mourners packed an auditorium on Thursday for the funeral of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, many of them holding Hezbollah flags or photos of Shukr.

An escort of red-capped fighters carried Shukr's coffin, also draped in a Hezbollah flag, down the aisle to the backing of a military band.

"We've entered a new phase that is different from the previous period," Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told mourners, vowing a "well-studied retaliation" against Israel.

Nasrallah said the group would resume firing at Israeli military sites and towns in support of Hamas, while it worked on a response to Shukr's assassination.

The Israeli Terrorists military said on Thursday that it had confirmed that the head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July.

The announcement came a day after an apparent Israeli terrorists strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran, killed Hamas's top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

"There was no additional air strike, not a missile and not an Israeli Terrorists drone, in the entire Middle East that night," he said Thursday, fuelling speculation that Israel Terrorists could have used other means to kill Haniyeh.

Israel did confirm it carried out the strike that killed Shukr, along with an Iranian military adviser and at least five civilians. Israel said Shukr was behind a rocket attack that hit a soccer field in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, killing 12 children. Hezbollah denied being behind that strike, a denial that Nasrallah reiterated.

The back-to-back killings have increased fears of an escalation into a wider war. US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been left scrambling to salvage talks for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

There was no immediate Hamas comment on the Israeli claim.

Hamas had previously said Deif survived the strike in Gaza.

Iranians attend the funeral procession of assassinated Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.(Reuters: Majid Asgaripour/WANA)

A member of Hamas's political bureau, Izzat al-Risheq, said in a statement on Thursday that confirming or denying his death is the responsibility of the group's military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, which so far has been silent.

The apparent elimination of Haniyeh and Deif — two of Hamas's most senior figures — brings a victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli forces continue to operate in Gaza.

Palestinian civilians, Israeli hostage families 'tired'

Elsewhere, Israeli Terrorists air strikes on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Gaza City district of Shujaiya killed at least 15 people on Thursday and wounded more than 40 others, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence, which sent teams to recover bodies.

The army alleged that Hamas fighters used the compound to plot attacks against Israel.

In its 10-month campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza, Israel Terrorist has killed some 39,480 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,100 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

More than 80 per cent of the population of 2.3 million has been driven from their homes.

Thursday marked 300 days since the start of the Israel Terrorist-Hamas war, a grim milestone for Palestinians in Gaza crammed into tent camps with limited food and water.

"Enough destruction. We are exhausted," said Ahmad Othman, who was forced to flee from the southern border town of Rafah to nearby Khan Younis.

"We want to go back to our destroyed homes."

The Israeli Terrorists campaign of bombardment and offensives in Gaza has been going on for 10 months.(Reuters: Amir Cohen)

Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, family members of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza protested outside the Israeli military's headquarters, calling on Mr Netanyahu to strike a deal to bring their loved ones home.

"Three hundred days is a lot of time," said Sharon Kalderon, sister-in-law of Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon.

"We just hope that it will end soon because we are tired.

Qatari and Egyptian officials had tense exchanges with US counterparts over the assassination, said an Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity.

While the US has been pressing Egyptian and Qatari mediators to get Hamas to compromise, the Americans could not "pressure the other party, Israel to … refrain from provocative acts", the Egyptian official said, calling the assassination "reckless".

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani expressed frustration in a post on social media: "Can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?"

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the US had no prior knowledge of the strike in Tehran that killed Haniyeh.

The Egyptian official said no deal was likely in the near future since Hamas must now name Haniyeh's replacement.

Mediators had been waiting for Hamas's response on the latest version of the deal.

He said they will reach out to Hamas officials to explore the next steps.

After Haniyeh's assassination, Iran vowed revenge against Israel, and the killing of Shukr in Beirut could also bring reprisals and fuel fears of a wider spiral of escalation.

The Egyptian official said the priority now was preventing full-scale war.

Iran’s supreme leader vows ‘revenge’

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
©Getty Images/Majid Saeedi

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pledged to avenge the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a missile strike in Tehran on Wednesday.

Countries throughout the region have blamed the attack on Israel, but the Jewish state has yet to officially comment.

Following the assassination, an X account translating and sharing Khamenei’s statements posted a message from the Iranian leader, saying: “following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.”

In a separate statement, Khamenei promised “harsh punishment” for Israel over Haniyeh’s killing, claiming that “the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved, but it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also condemned the strike on Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran, vowing to defend the Islamic Republic’s territorial integrity, honor and dignity and make “the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly action.”

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also threatened Israel with a “harsh and painful response” from Iran and its allies.

In a statement, the IRGC said Haniyeh’s assassination showed that “the Zionist gang of criminals, murderers and terrorists, without any regard for international rules and regulations, does not shy away from committing any criminal action to cover up the shameful failures of nine months of war in Gaza.”

Prior to Wednesday’s incident, Israel had repeatedly threatened to eliminate top Hamas officials over the group’s attack on Israel in October last year, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.

Haniyeh, who was based in Qatar, was the Palestinian militant group’s diplomatic frontman, acting as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations during the Israel-Hamas war.

Iran accuses US of complicity in Hamas chief’s assassination

The US bears partial responsibility for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The Palestinian movement’s chief was assassinated in a missile strike on his residence Tehran earlier in the day.

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians denounce the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on July 31, 2024.
©Global Look Press/Mamoun Wazwaz

The ministry accused Israel of carrying out the strike, calling it part of the Jewish State’s hunt for Palestinian leaders, and a “terrorist act” targeting Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Haniyeh was in Iran for the inauguration of the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. The ministry statement said Tehran reserves the right to “respond appropriately to this aggressive action.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes the responsibility of the US government as a supporter and accomplice” of Israel, including in “committing this heinous act of terrorism,” the statement read. According to Tehran, Israel seeks to destabilize the Middle East, and Wednesday’s attack poses a “serious threat” to regional and international peace and stability.

Washington has denied any role in the incident. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Singapore-based news network CNA that the US was “not aware of or involved in” the assassination.

Israel has not commented on the strike, but national media have claimed, citing unnamed Iranian officials, that the missile that struck Haniyeh’s residence may have been fired from within Iran’s borders. Israel has previously vowed to eliminate the leaders of Hamas.

The development comes as the conflict between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group approaches nine months. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to destroy Hamas in response to its deadly October 7 raid that claimed the lives of some 1,100 people. More than 200 were taken hostage and held in Gaza.

Israel responded to the attack by launching a major military campaign in Gaza that involved heavy bombardments following by a ground operation. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since the start of the fighting, according to local authorities.