Mirna Fahmy

In one day, Israel targeted the assassination of many Islamist group leaders that are backed by Iran.

The whole world woke up on Wednesday, July 31, on the news of the assassination of one of the biggest notable Hamas leaders, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran’s capital. The news was released by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group who are keen to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation, and then reassured by the Iranians’ media. The assassination was just hours away from the inauguration of Iran’s new president that Haniyeh attended.

The statement said that the death of Haniyeh was a result of a direct targeted missile that was launched from a neighbouring building intending his IRAG guest house, which supposedly should be strictly tightened in terms of security. His place was just 200 metres from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, according to many sources. Haniyeh’s guards were even changed than usual, which dotted an unexpected note because the one who would usually assign those guards is Iran’s Khamenei.

After such news, all the eyes were rolling out towards Israel, pointing out that Israel is the one behind this Hamas leader’s assassination. The reason was quite palpable because Israel has killed many leaders of Hamas in Gaza, Syria, South Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says his country was unaware and not involved in the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

“The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment,” Khamenei stated on his X account.

Haniyeh is considered a martyr to many pro-Palestinians because Hamas is regarded as a resistant movement that shall liberate the region from any Israeli power or influence.

Khamenei’s grudge against Israel might urge a regional war between Israel and Iran soon. This didn’t happen when Iran’s previous president and the country’s foreign minister died in a helicopter attack, and there was no reveal of who was behind it. The explanations that were roaming at that from many politicians on social media were that if Iran were to announce that Israel is the one behind it, that might prompt a deadly war between the two.

“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue lead us to ask, How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

“Peace needs serious partners.”

Later it was revealed by New York Times that a sophisticated, remotely controlled device that was smuggled into the Hamas leader’s room at the Tehran guest house where he was staying around two months ago was what caused the explosion that killed Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard early on Wednesday.

This contradicts the earlier reports about the directed missile that targeted Haniyeh. The report cited one American and seven Middle Eastern officials, including two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Three Iranian officials cited by the Times described that  the assassination is a “tremendous embarrassment” for the IRGC, which runs the guesthouse where Haniyeh and other dignitaries were staying.

Besides Haniyeh’s death, Israel has killed two more, who are Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif.

There are two remaining on the list out of five Hamas leaders who are Khaled Meshaal, who will replace Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.

As much as there were those who were in deep sorrow because of Haniyeh’s death, there were those who were happy that Israel is fighting a fight on behalf of the Middle East and the world, which is the eradication of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Today we got rid of those who were communicating with Haji Morsi (the former Egyptian president) and had fun and blew the balloons,” Edy Cohen, an Israeli journalist and academic scholar, said on his X account. “I want you to be very happy. There is no brotherhood in Al-Mahrousa again.”

Cohen mentioned on his X that there are 29 generals and senior officers from the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian intelligence as part of the investigation and search for the source of the information leak in Tehran to Israel, which led to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

Two days later, the New York Times confirmed such news that more than two dozen people in the Iranian’s guards were arrested. 

Eccentric to note that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been portrayed on many X accounts and posts as the “New ruler” of the Middle East.

Upon hearing the news, videos of the people in Israel were roaming celebrating the death of Haniyeh giving out  deserts  and watermelon provoking those who support Hamas.

Mourning of the deaths of the Egyptian soldiers who were killed as a result of clashes in Northern Sinai between Hamas and Egyptian army sides back in 2013 and 2014 were curled up in the awash of the comments on social media. The most famous Egyptian soldier is Ahmed Al-Mansi, which a whole Egyptian series known as The Choice (El Ekhteyar) revolved around.

“May God have mercy on the righteous martyrs of Egypt,” the famous Egyptian TV anchor Ahmed Mousa stated on his X account. “There will never be anyone who desecrated the pure land of Egypt, betrayed and killed the martyrs, heroes of the armed forces, and the police.” Mousa elaborated that the people of Egypt will not forget those two crimes and long live free Egypt.

Egypt considered what happened to Haniyeh in Tehran a dangerous escalation and warned of the dangers of igniting confrontation in the region in a way that would inflict serious security consequences. The nation called on the Security Council and internationally influential powers to fulfil their responsibility in ceasing this dangerous escalation in the Middle East.

Same as Egypt, Jordan voiced the same since it is within the borders.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued many advisory statements on the illegal actions that Israel is committing in the region and why it should withdraw from the Palestinian territories. On the contrary, Israel is still vowing that it will eradicate all the Islamist group leaders.

Describing the assassination as “heinous,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a strong statement condemning the high-profile killing, according to the Anadolu news agency.

On the same day of July 31, there were more assassination targets by Israel in this cross-conflicted region.

“The IDF conducted a precise and professional operation to eliminate Hezbollah’s most senior military commander,” said Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant.

“Fuad Shukr ‘Sayyid’ Muhsan has the blood of many Israelis on his hands.” Yoav reiterated his demeanour that they have shown that the blood of their people has a price and that there is no place out of reach for the IDF forces to this end.

On the same day, a third target, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces Commander, was assassinated near Damascus. He is believed to have orchestrated April’s missile attack on Israel.

Iran is in huge turmoil, where there have been announcements by many Israeli sources that there are three consecutive rocket bombs in the capital, Tehran. The internet was cut off in many places in the capital.

The Israeli hacker group “We Red Evils Original” claimed responsibility for the alleged WiFi failures in Iran, according to Israeli media on Thursday, August 1 night.

The Journalism post article that was the first to publish about it attributed that the gang said on Telegram that they would be attacking Iranian internet systems and providers in the next few minutes, just in advance of reports from Iran. A serious blow is approaching.

“If the United States intervenes this time, we will target all its military bases and interests in the region,” the commander of the Iranian army said in a TV show.

In the last week of June, the US deployed its amphibious assault ship USS Wasp into the eastern Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a wider war in the Middle East, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Less than 24 hours after Haniyeh’s death, South Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been showering northern Israel with tens of missiles, triggering Israel to respond vigorously as usual.

“In view of the ongoing situation in parts of the Middle East, we have suspended scheduled operation of our flights to and from Tel Aviv with immediate effect up to and including August 8, 2024,” the Indian airline Air India posted on X.

Not only India, but also, European airlines, Lufthansa Group, and British Airways as well as the US’ Delta airlines have recently joined the list of countries to cancel flights to Tel Aviv, due to the recent developments in the Middle East.

Israel versus Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon are promising each other for attacks turning Lebanon into a centre of their war zone along with other Arab countries in the middle.