Middle East updates: Haniyeh funeral held in Iran

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that it was too early to predict the impact of Ismail Haniyeh's death on Gaza cease-fire negotiations.

The Hamas political leader was killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in an airstrike that Iran and the militant group blamed on Israel, which has not explicitly claimed responsibility. 

Haniyeh had headed the Hamas negotiating team in indirect Israel-Hamas talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The latest round of cease-fire talks, held in Rome last weekend, achieved little.

According to Israeli and US officials, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to have a phone conversation on Thursday.

Israel is on high alert, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday afternoon after Iran and its ally Hezbollah threatened to retaliate for the killing of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas this week.

"Israel is highly prepared for any scenario, both defensively and offensively," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office during a visit to a Home Front Command base.

"We will exact a very heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena," he added. 

An Israeli strike in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday killed Fouad Shukur, head of Hezbollah's military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians.

Just hours after Shukur's killing, the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Israel has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh's death. 

The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned the conflict with Israel has entered a "new phase."

Nasrallah spoke via videofeed at the funeral of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed in an Israeli strike Tuesday in Beirut.

Israel said Shukur was behind a rocket attack days earlier that hit a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 children.

"Our response is coming," Nasrallah said during the funeral.

He also cryptically warned them that "the enemy and the one who is behind the enemy," presumably Israel's ally the United States, "will have to wait for our coming response."

The attack on Shukur has since been somewhat overshadowed by the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

There areconcerns about a potential large, coordinated attack on Israel by Iran, Hezbollah, and other allied militias in the region. 

The German Football Association (DFB) has responded to a social media post by footballer Mesut Özil in which the former Germany international appeared to question the right of Israel to exist.

Özil, 35, shared an image on Instagram on Tuesday showing a map of the Middle East with the name "Israel" crossed out and replaced with the name "Palestine."

Approached by the German news agency DPA, the DFB responded, without explicit reference to the post: "Israel's right to exist must not be questioned."

The German government considers itself and advocate for Israel's right to exist, and successive chancellors have described Israel's security as a "reason of state," a consequence of the country's responsibility for the Holocaust.

Özil, who was born in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents, has expressed his support for the Palestinian cause on multiple occasions, including with a similar map with similar annotations in May 2024.

German airline Lufthansa said on Thursday it was suspending all flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, until August 8 and will extend its suspension of flights to Beirut, Lebanon, by a week until August 12.

"Due to current developments, the Lufthansa group is once again adjusting its service to the Middle East," said a spokesman.

The suspension also applies to Lufthansa subsidiaries including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and Eurowings.

A Lufthansa flight from Munich to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night was stopped during a scheduled stop in Larnaca, Cyprus.

Another Austrian Airlines flight had to divert to Sofia, Bulgaria.

On Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged German citizens in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible.

The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, has warned that Iran will exact "blood vengeance" on Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday.

"The only certainty is that the Zionists will bitterly regret this act," said Bagheri, referring to Israel.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, whose commander Fuad Shukr was also killed by an Israeli drone strike in Beirut this week, said "the battle with Israel has entered a new phase."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group will "definitely" deliver a "real, studied response" and that Israel "does not know to what extent it has crossed the red line."

Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesman insisted that Tel Aviv is prepared for any eventuality and "Israel will exact a very high price for aggression against us from whatever quarter."

The Israeli army says it has confirmed that Hamas' military leader Mohammed Deif was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on July 13.

At the time, the Israeli government announced that Hamas' Khan Younis brigade commander Rafa Salama had been killed in the attack on the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, but only said it had confirmation of Deif's death on Thursday. 

A member of Hamas since 1987, Deif had been on Israel's "most wanted" list since 1995.

"Following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," the IDF said in a statement. They added that "Deif initiated, planned, and executed the October 7th massacre," but did not provide evidence to back up the allegation.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on "all parties" in the Middle East to "stop escalatory actions" and stoke broader tensions.

Speaking on a diplomatic trip to Mongolia, Blinken reiterated a call from many foreign governments the day before that had cautioned about the dangers of widening regional conflict.

In the wake of Hamas leader Haniyeh's killing, Blinken stated that Washington did not participate in the attack, nor had it even been aware of it.

Iranian news agency IRNA published pictures of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praying in front of the gathered crowd at Tehran University.

Surrounded by thousands of mourners and most of Iran's political elite, Khamenei prayed over the coffins of Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards before he was set to lead the procession to Azadi Square.

Thursday marks the first of three official days of mourning in Iran. Haniyeh was killed in a strike in Tehran during a visit for the inauguration of newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Khamenei has promised a "harsh punishment" for Israel for allegedly carrying out the attack.

Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim wrote on his official Facebook page to complain that Meta, the site's parent company, had removed his post honoring Haniyeh.

He gave a "stern warning" to Meta in a post after images he shared celebrating Haniyeh as a "freedom fighter" were taken down for allegedly violating rules against dangerous speech.

"Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Meta: Cease this display of cowardice," he added.

Anwar met Haniyeh and Qatar in May. He has said he supports the Palestinian cause but has strongly denied military connections to Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and Germany, among others.

The funeral procession for Ismail Haniyeh has begun in the Iranian capital, a day after he was killed by an air strike that Hamas blamed on Israel.

Crowds of mourners carrying pictures of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags gathered at Tehran University in the center of the city.

Haniyeh will be laid to rest in Qatar after the ceremony. He had been living in exile in the Gulf state since 2016.

Ismail Haniyeh was born in a Gaza refugee camp in 1962 and attended a United Nations school. He joined Hamas in 1987 at the beginning of a major uprising against Israel known as the first Intifada.

Haniyeh was appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas won a majority of seats in the 2006 legislative elections.

However, Abbas tried to dismiss him when Hamas unleashed a wave of violence to oust his Fatah party from the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh refused to step down and Hamas continued to rule the Gaza Strip, while Fatah remained responsible for the occupied West Bank.

Haniyeh moved to Qatar to live in exile in 2016. In 2017, he was elected head of Hamas' political bureau, succeeding Khaled Mashaal.

Israel had vowed to kill him following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.

The Hamas militant group is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and Germany, among others.

Iran is set to hold funeral processions for Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political chief who was killed in Tehran in what the Islamist militant group said was an Israeli strike.  

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, will lead the prayers for Haniyeh, state media said. Haniyeh will later be buried in Qatar. 

Khamenei has vowed a "harsh punishment" for Haniyeh's killing and said it was Iran's "duty" to seek revenge as he was assassinated on Iranian soil.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had delivered "crushing blows" to Iran's proxies over the last few days.

Haniyeh's death came just hours after Israel killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, following an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel accused Hezbollah of carrying out the strike that killed a dozen children.  

The latest developments have prompted concerns internationally of a wider regional conflict. 

fb,es/ab,sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)