Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed Wednesday in an apparent assassination at his residence in Tehran, drawing reprisal pledges from the militant group and Iran and fueling deeper concern that Israel's war in Gaza could rapidly expand across the Middle East.
Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed after attending an inauguration ceremony for the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, Hamas and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced.
Hamas and Iran immediately blamed Israel, which has pledged to take down Hamas leaders responsible for the Oct. 7 attack that left almost 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.
Speaking to the nation in Hebrew, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address Haniyeh's death but said, according to a translation: "We are not going to be silent. We'll make everyone pay the price, everyone that murders us, anyone that takes our children.''
At least 31 Palestinians were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in...
