Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and accused the United States of supporting the attack which it blamed on Israel, state TV reported.
The televised statement on Saturday, which reiterated a call for retaliation, said a rocket with a 7kg (about 15-pound) warhead was used to target the residence of Hamas’ political leader in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, adding it caused heavy devastation. It did not share details of the residence’s location.
Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration of newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“The action was designed and carried out by the Zionist regime and supported by the US,” said the Guard’s statement. It added that “the warmongering and terrorist Zionist regime will receive harsh punishment in the suitable time, place, and capacity.”
US President Joe Biden expressed hope Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge the assassination of Haniyeh as fears mounted that Israel’s war against Palestinian militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict.
Regional tensions have soared following the assassination on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.
Asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Biden said on Saturday in response to a shouted question, “I hope so. I don’t know.”
Seeking to bolster defences in the Middle East in response to threats from Israel’s foes, the Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.
Haniyeh’s death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the Gaza war nears its 11th month, and it fuelled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Hamas said it had begun a “broad consultation process” to choose a new leader three days after the assassination of Haniyeh, who was the face of the group’s international diplomacy.
The US and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts on Saturday seeking to prevent further regional escalation.
The US urged its citizens who wish to leave Lebanon to start making plans immediately, and the British government advised its nationals to “leave now.” Canada warned citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict endangered security.
An Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City killed at least 15 Palestinians on Saturday, hours after two strikes in the occupied West Bank killed nine militants including a local Hamas commander, Hamas said.
The Israeli military said the first of two West Bank air strikes hit a vehicle in a town near the city of Tulkarm, targeting a militant cell it said was on its way to carry out an attack.
A Hamas statement said one of those killed was a commander of its Tulkarm brigades, while its ally Islamic Jihad claimed the other four men who died in the strike as its fighters.
Hours later, a second air strike in the area targeted another group of militants who had fired on troops, Israel’s military said, during what it described as a counterterrorism operation in Tulkarm.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said four people had died in that strike, and Hamas said all nine of those killed in the two Israeli attacks in the West Bank were fighters.
At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials. The offensive was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted, according to Israeli tallies.
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World reacts to air strikes killing Hamas leader in Iran and Hezbollah commander in Beirut
World reacts to air strikes killing Hamas leader in Iran and Hezbollah commander in Beirut
A high-level Israeli delegation made a brief visit to Cairo on Saturday in an attempt to resume Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian airport authority sources said. The Israeli officials returned to Israel hours later, Israeli media said.
Chances of a breakthrough appear low following the latest incidents in Lebanon and Iran.
Israel has not said whether it was behind Haniyeh’s assassination. But Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies of late, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
