Middle East updates: Hamas blames Israel for leader's death

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has condemned the strike that killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh without pinning blame or naming parties.

"Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Sheikh Mohammed has been the public face of Qatar in negotiations related to securing a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has held several rounds of talks between Israel and Hamas representatives given the close links it has to both sides, especially Hamas, as Doha is home to much of the militant group's exiled political bureau. Haniyeh had been living there, but was visiting Iran at the time of his death.

Iran declared three days of national mourning after a strike killed Hamas's political chief in Tehran.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran announced three days of public mourning following the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh," a government statement read.

Haniyeh emerged as one of the militant group's most prominent leaders during Israel's conflict in Gaza following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7.

Hamas and Iranian state media said Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he had been attending the inauguration of the new Iranian president. The Israeli military has not commented on the strike.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that "harsh punishment" awaited Israel after an airstrike killed the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh.

"With this action, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself, and we consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood as he was martyred in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said in a statement cited by official news agency IRNA.

At the same time, the country's new President Masoud Pezeshkian paid tribute to Haniyeh on social media site X, writing, "yesterday I raised his hand and today I have to bury him."

Haniyeh had been in Tehran to attend Pezeshkian's inauguration.

Without mentioning Israel by name, Pezeshkian further wrote that those responsible would "regret its cowardly act," and that "the two proud nations of Iran and Palestine will be stronger than before."

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said that the death of Haniyeh was a "heinous crime." Like other regional governments, Doha also warned that the strike in Iran was a "dangerous escalation" of growing tensions across the Middle East.

The statement continued, "this assassination and the reckless Israeli behavior of continuously targeting civilians in Gaza will lead to the region slipping into chaos and undermine the chances of peace."

"The ministry reiterates the State of Qatar's firm position rejecting violence, terrorism and criminal acts, including political assassinations, regardless of the motives and reasons," it added.

Much of Hamas's political leadership, including Haniyeh, live in exile in Qatar, which has hosted them with the blessing of the United States since 2012.

Beijing also joined the chorus voicing worries that the attack that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran marked a dangerous escalation in regional tensions that could lead to all-out war.

"We are highly concerned about the incident and firmly oppose and condemn the assassination," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

"We are deeply concerned that this incident may lead to further instability in the regional situation," he added.

China has seen itself as a peace broker in the conflict, offering to host both Palestinian and Israeli leaders for cease-fire talks. It also played host to a recent summit in which Hamas, which has controlled Gaza, and Fatah, which is in power in the occupied West Bank, put over a decade of conflict to rest and signed a unity deal.

Various Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank have called for a general strike in the wake of Haniyeh's killing.

"The national and Islamic factions in Palestine announce a comprehensive strike and anger marches to [protest] the assassination of the great national leader Ismail Haniyeh, which came in the framework of Zionist state terrorism and its war of extermination," they said in a joint statement.

While Hamas's control was mostly limited to the Gaza Strip, it had support from other militant groups in the West Bank and recently signed a unity deal agreement with other factions including rival party Fatah.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, offered its condolences over the killing of Haniyeh.

The Iran-backed group said the attack "will increase the resistance fighters' determination ... to continue the path of jihad, and make their will stronger in confronting the Zionist enemy."

"We in Hezbollah share with our dear brothers in the Hamas movement the pain over the loss of this great leader," the statement read.

Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across their shared border since October 8. On Tuesday, Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut, saying it had killed a Hezbollah leader responsible for a strike on a village in the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers.

The UN Human Rights Office has issued a new report on the conditions of Gazans in detention in Israel.

The report states that Israel was holding some 9,400 "security detainees" in its prisons as of the end of June, and that they are being held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights.

Moreover, the United Nations found widespread reports of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, dog attacks and other formers of torture being used on the detainees.

The report decried the fact that many of the prisoners were women, children, journalists and peace activists.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called the findings a "flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law."

Houthi rebels have condemned the killing of top Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. 

"Targeting him is a heinous terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group's political office, posted on social media site X.

Yemen's Houthi rebels are allied with Hamas, and have been the target of Israeli and US airstrikes in recent months as part of the ongoing conflict.

Over the past months, the Houthis have attacked international ships in the Red Sea and disrupted major trade routes, in support of Palestinians.

Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that its senior commander Fuad Shukr had been in a building in Beirut that had been targeted by an Israeli airstrike the day before.

The group did not comment on Shukr's fate, but Israel had said on Tuesday that he had been killed.

Israel had blamed Shukr, who it called Hezbollah's most senior military commander, for an attack over the weekend that killed a dozen young people in the occupied Golan Heights.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has condemned the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, calling it "unacceptable."

"This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions," state news agency RIA quoted him as saying.

Russian leaders have condemned Hamas' attack on Israeli civilians, but also Israel's response to it, and offered to act as a mediator in the conflict.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack on Haniyeh and accusing Israel of escalating the conflict.

"We condemn the assassination of the leader of Hamas's political office, Ismail Haniyeh, in a shameful assassination in Tehran," the ministry said, adding that "this attack also aims to spread the Gaza war to a regional dimension."

Turkey has been critical of Israel's operations in Gaza and the wider region. The two countries had been improving their ties, but this was brought to an abrupt halt after October 7.

While on a trip to the Philippines, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he didn't think war across the Middle East was a foregone conclusion, referring to Hezbollah and Israel trading strikes to and from Lebanon.

"I don't think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there's always room and opportunities for diplomacy," he told reporters.

He said the United States wanted to "bring the temperature down" in the region, while also affirming Washington's ongoing support for Israel.

His comments come after Israel carried out a strike on a Beirut suburb, saying it had killed a Hezbollah leader. They also came amid reports that the top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in Iran.

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.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Fatah party, strongly condemned the attack according to Palestinian media.

"President Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, deeming it a cowardly act and a serious escalation," Abbas's office said in a statement.

"He urged our people and their forces to unite, remain patient, and stand firm against the Israeli occupation."

Fatah and Hamas were longtime rivals before they signed a unity accord in China earlier this month.  Abbas had removed Haniyeh from his office as Palestinian prime minister in 2007, though Haniyeh refused to acknowledge his decree for years.