Slain Hamas leader Haniyeh buried in Qatar amid vows of revenge against Israel By Reuters

By Tala Ramadan, Jana Choukeir and Nidal al-Mughrabi

DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas’ prime chief Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his assassination within the Iranian capital Tehran, and his attainable succcessor informed mourners his loss of life would solely make the Palestinian militant group extra decided in its wrestle in opposition to Israel.

Haniyeh’s loss of life was one in a collection of killings of senior Hamas figures because the battle in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its eleventh month and concern grows that the battle is spreading throughout the Center East.

Hamas and Iran have each accused Israel of finishing up the assassination and have pledged to retaliate in opposition to their foe. Israel has not claimed accountability for the loss of life nor denied it.

Haniyeh was laid to relaxation in a cemetery within the metropolis of Lusail after a funeral ceremony on the Iman Mohamed Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab Mosque in Qatar’s capital Doha.

His coffin, draped within the Palestinian flag, was carried in a procession previous lots of of individuals together with the casket of his bodyguard, who was killed in the identical assault in Tehran on Wednesday.

Mourners on the ceremony included Khaled Meshaal, who’s tipped to be the brand new Hamas chief. Different senior Hamas officers and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani additionally attended.

Talking on the mosque, the place Haniyeh’s physique was laid for prayers, Meshaal mentioned his loss of life would solely make the group extra decided to proceed its struggle for a free Palestine. There can be no concessions over its rules and no recognition of Israel, he mentioned.

“Palestine will stay from the river to the ocean…and the Zionists (Israel) haven’t any place on the land of Palestine, no matter what number of they kill of us,” Meshaal mentioned in a video launched by Hamas.

Haniyeh’s loss of life was an enormous loss to the motion however it will not alter their course, he mentioned.

“Our enemies do not be taught the lesson, they’ve been killing our leaders for over 100 years, what occurred? When a frontrunner ascends (to heaven) one other chief comes,” he mentioned.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri informed Reuters by telephone: “Our message to the occupation (Israel) right now is that you’re sinking deep within the mud and your finish is getting nearer than ever. The blood of Haniyeh will change all equations.”

Haniyeh was killed by a missile that hit him immediately in a state guesthouse in Tehran the place he was staying, senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya mentioned in Tehran.

The strike was certainly one of a number of current hits which have killed senior figures in Hamas or the Lebanese motion Hezbollah in a battle that’s now stretching from Gaza to the Pink Sea and the Lebanon-Israel border and past.

In the US, U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned Haniyeh’s killingwas not useful to worldwide efforts to safe a ceasefire within the battle in Gaza.

“It does not assist,” Biden informed reporters on Thursday, when requested if the motion ruined the probabilities of a truce.

Qatar has been main the peace effort together with Egypt and the US, Israel’s primary ally.

WIDOW MOURNS

Haniyeh was the face of Hamas’ worldwide diplomacy as an Israeli offensive destroyed Gaza.

He was seen by many diplomats as a pragmatist in comparison with the extra hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza, though some Israeli commentators have mentioned he was thought of by some on the Israeli facet as an impediment to a deal.

Three of his sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike within the besieged enclave in April together with 4 of his grandchildren, Hamas mentioned.

For Palestinian supporters, the Hamas management are fighters for liberation from Israeli occupation, conserving their trigger alive when worldwide diplomacy has failed them.

To Israelis and Western states, the Iran-backed Hamas, which has directed suicide bombings in Israel and fought frequent wars in opposition to it, is a terrorist group bent on Israel’s destruction.

Appointed to the Hamas prime job in 2017, Haniyeh moved between Turkey and Doha, escaping the journey curbs of the blockaded Gaza Strip.

In Could, the Worldwide Legal Court docket prosecutor’s workplace requested arrest warrants for 3 Hamas leaders, together with Haniyeh, in addition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged battle crimes. Israel and Palestinian leaders have dismissed the allegations.

Israel has introduced that an air strike it mounted final month assassinated Hamas navy chief Mohammed Deif in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed or denied the loss of life of Deif.

Hezbollah mentioned that its senior navy commander Fuad Shukr had been killed in an Israeli strike on a constructing in Beirut on Tuesday and it vowed a “particular” response to his killing.