Haniyeh killed by a projectile fired at his room, eyewitnesses say
Three
people who were in the building tell MEE they heard sounds before an
explosion and reject reports Hamas leader was killed by a planted bomb
An image purportedly showing the Tehran guesthouse where Ismail Haniyeh was staying (Screengrab/X)
Published date: 2 August 2024
Three individuals who were in the heavily guarded building in Tehran where Ismail Haniyeh
was assassinated have told Middle East Eye that the Hamas political
chief was killed by a projectile fired at his room and not a planted
bomb.
The individuals, one of whom was staying in a room near Haniyeh's,
said on Friday that they heard sounds before an explosion shook the
building, sounds they said appeared to be consistent with those made by a
missile.
"This was definitely a projectile and not a planted bomb," one of the
individuals told MEE, adding that they saw the aftermath of the
explosion which appeared to be consistent with an attack by a missile.
The other two individuals, who were staying on separate floors, also
witnessed the aftermath of the strike, which resulted in the partial
collapse of the ceiling and exterior wall of Haniyeh's room.
Haniyeh, a veteran Hamas official who had played a key role in talks for a potential ceasefire in Gaza,
was killed alongside his long-serving bodyguard Wasim Abu Shaaban on
Wednesday, hours after they attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Haniyeh's killing was the second high-profile Israeli assassination within hours, following a strike in Beirut that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, heightening fears that the region was sliding towards a full-blown war.
A source close to officials in the Iranian presidency told MEE that
the building where Haniyeh and several other invited Palestinian guests
were staying was situated near Tehran's Saadabad palace and guarded by
the Republican Guards (IRGC).
According to analysis of the area, the building is situated on a
hillside on the northern edge of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz
mountains, and there are no other residential buildings in the immediate
vicinity of the compound.
A 3d image by Google Earth shows the complex in Tehran where
Ismail Haniyeh was staying prior to his assassination (Google Earth)
Shortly
after the killing, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told
reporters, citing eyewitnesses, that the attack was carried out by a
missile which "directly struck" Haniyeh.
In his press conference in Tehran, Hayya added that whilst neither
Hamas nor Iran were seeking a regional war, the killing needed to be
avenged.
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Confirmed information about the circumstances of Haniyeh’s death
remains sparse and Iranian officials have so far been reluctant to
reveal many details of the investigation into the attack.
On Wednesday, the Iranian parliament’s commission of national
security and foreign policy held an emergency meeting to discuss the
killing of the Hamas official.
But a senior police official told the commission he had no
information to pass onto MPs, and no one from the IRGC attended the
meeting.
The accounts heard by MEE appear to raise questions about reports
that Haniyeh may have been killed by a bomb placed inside the building
where he was staying.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that Haniyeh had been killed by a sophisticated bomb planted in his room some two months earlier.
But the IRGC-aligned Fars news agency reported that the investigation
indicated that Haniyeh had been “struck by a projectile” and concluded
that Israel’s involvement “cannot be ruled out”.
Israel has not denied responsibility for the killing. But asked about
Haniyeh's death at a press conference on Thursday, military
spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: "Other than the elimination of senior
Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Lebanon, we did not conduct any
airstrikes that night anywhere in the Middle East."
'Rage and revenge'
Responding to that assassination, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
said in a televised address on Thursday that Israel had "crossed a line"
by killing Shukr, adding that it would face a fierce response.
Israel should expect "rage and revenge on all the fronts supporting Gaza," Nasrallah said.
Following Nasrallah's speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was "prepared for what may come."
"Israel is in a state of very high readiness for any scenario – on
both defence and offence," he said. "We will exact a very high price for
any act of aggression against us from any quarter whatsoever."
So far, Netanyahu has made no mention of Haniyeh's killing but in
recent days has said that Israel delivered crushing blows to Iran's
proxies and would forcefully respond to any attack.
"We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and
determined against any threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any
aggression against us from any arena," he said.
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The latest assassinations appear to set back chances of any imminent ceasefire agreement in the nearly 10-month war on Gaza.
Hamas' armed wing said in a statement that Haniyeh's killing would
"take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions".
Vowing to retaliate, Iran declared three days of national mourning
and said the US also bore responsibility because of its support for
Israel.
Speaking in Mongolia on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken warned that the region was heading towards more "conflict, more
violence, suffering, or insecurity, and it is crucial that we break the
cycle."
"It's urgent that all parties make the right choices in the days
ahead because those choices are the difference between staying on this
path of violence, of insecurity, of suffering, or moving to something
very different and much better for all parties concerned," he said.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters on 7
October killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250
captive.
Amid the relentless Israeli bombardment, more than 39,400 people have
been killed in Gaza and most of the enclave's population of 2.3 million
people have been repeatedly displaced.
Whilst the mood has appeared to be buoyant in Israel following the
assassinations, residents in Gaza have said they have had little time to
mourn Haniyeh and have been preoccupied with trying to survive.
"Israel has been killing us for about 300 days, so what's new about
this?" Nermine Basel, a 29-year-old displaced Palestinian in Deir
al-Balah told MEE.
"[Israel] is killing and stripping Palestinians of any right to life
simply for choosing not to submit to the occupation," she added.