World reacts to killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran

World reacts to killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran
Ismael Haniyeh, Palestinian leader of the militant group Hamas, surrounded by lawmakers flashes the victory sign during the swearing in ceremony for the new Iranian President, at the parliament in Tehran on July 30, 2024. Iranian reformist Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn as the Islamic republic's ninth president. (Photo by AFP)
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Updated 31 July 2024
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World reacts to killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran

World reacts to killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran

DUBAI: The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Iran drew regional and global reactions, raising fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.

Hamas said that Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration of the country’s new president. 

Israel itself did not immediately comment but it often doesn’t when it comes to assassinations carried out by their Mossad intelligence agency.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States was “not aware of or involved in” the killing of Haniyeh in Iran.

“I can't tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a ceasefire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains,” Blinken said, according to a transcript shared by his staff from an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore.

However, Iran said that the United States bears responsibility in the assassination of Haniyeh because of its support for Israel.

Attack risks to escalate regional fighting
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge on Israel over the killing of Hamas' political chief, saying Israel “prepared a harsh punishment for itself.”

“We consider his revenge as our duty” in a statement on his official website, saying Haniyeh was “a dear guest in our home.” Iran also declared three days of mourning following the killing of the Hamas chief.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters: “This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas.”

He said that Hamas would continue the path it was following, adding: “We are confident of victory.”

Hamas senior official Moussa Abu Marzouk, meanwhile, said that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. He also called the assassination a cowardly act.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of Haniyeh, and Palestinian factions in the occupied West Bank called for a general strike and mass demonstrations.

Russia on Wednesday denounced the killing of Haniyeh as an “unacceptable political assassination.”

“It is a completely unacceptable political assassination, and this will lead to a further escalation of tensions,” Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Konstantin Kosachev, the vice president of Russia’s upper house Federation Council, said that he expected a “sudden escalation of mutual hatred in the Near East.”

“The most difficult period of confrontations is beginning in the region,” he wrote on Telegram.

On Haniyeh’s death, China’s foreign ministry said that China opposes and condemns the act of “assassination.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “perfidious assassination” in Tehran of his close ally and “brother” Haniyeh. 

“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack,” Erdogan wrote on the X social media platform, denouncing “Zionist barbarity.”

“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers' just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians,” Erdogan added.

Qatar and Egypt say assassinations damage Gaza truce chances

Qatar strongly condemned the assassination of Haniyeh considering it a heinous crime, “a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a statement that “the assassination and reckless targeting of civilians will lead the region into chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”

Egypt said that Israeli escalation indicated a lack of political will from Israel for de-escalation, after the killing of Haniyeh. 

A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said this escalation, along with making no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, was complicating the situation.

Iraq's foreign ministry in a statement described the killing as a “flagrant violation of international law and a threat to security and stability in the region.”

Iran-backed groups condemn Haniyeh killing

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards military force confirmed the death of Haniyeh and said in a statement that “Iran and the resistance front will respond to this crime," employing a term Tehran uses to refer to allied militant groups across the Middle East.

Yemen’s Iran-backed militant Houthi group called Haniyeh’s killing a “heinous terrorist crime”.

“Targeting him is a heinous terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Huthis' political bureau, posted on X.

The Yemeni rebels have been launching drones and missiles at shipping in the Red Sea since November, saying that they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah issued its condolences on Wednesday but did not specifically accuse Israel. It said that Haniyeh’s killing would make Iran-aligned groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, more determined to confront Israel.

Iraqi armed faction Kataib Hezbollah, part of a pro-Iran alliance of armed groups, said the Israeli killing of Haniyeh in Tehran “broke all rules of engagement,” in a statement on its official Telegram account on Wednesday.


 


UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port

UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port
Updated 29 sec ago
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UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port

UAE Sheikha Fatima’s aid ship for Palestinians in Gaza arrives at Al-Arish Port
  • Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is a prominent advocate for women’s education and children’s well-being
  • Ship carries 5,800 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food, shelter, medical essentials

LONDON: A ship from the UAE carrying almost 6,000 tons of aid relief to Palestinians arrived on Thursday at Al-Arish Port in Egypt, destined for the Gaza Strip.

The aid shipment is a gift from Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the late founder and first president of the UAE.

Known as the Mother of the Nation, she is a prominent advocate for women’s education and children’s well-being.

The ship carries 5,800 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food, shelter materials, and medical essentials. It sailed from Al-Hamriyah Port in Dubai on Jan. 20 as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, aimed at addressing the urgent needs of Palestinians in Gaza.

The aid vessel’s timely arrival before the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, ensures emergency relief for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Maitha bint Salem Al-Shamsi, the Emirati minister of state; Rashid Mubarak Al-Mansouri, secretary-general of the Emirates Red Crescent; and Maj. Gen. Khaled Megawer, governor of North Sinai, received the ship at Al-Arish Port.

The delegation visited the UAE Floating Hospital in Al-Arish, which provides medical care to Palestinians, and learned about the services available for the injured.

Emirati aid to Palestinians in Gaza was made possible through contributions from the Emirates Red Crescent, the Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Foundation, the Khalifa bin Zayed Foundation, the Dar Al-Ber Society, and Sharjah Charity International.


Three PKK fighters killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkiye

Three PKK fighters killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkiye
Updated 31 min 37 sec ago
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Three PKK fighters killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkiye

Three PKK fighters killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkiye
  • Turkiye often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against the PKK
  • The strikes “killed a military commander and two other PKK fighters” in the Mawat area

IRBIL: Drone strikes killed a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) commander and two fighters in northern Iraq on Thursday, Kurdish authorities said, blaming Turkiye for the attack.
Turkiye often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
Turkish drones “struck between 10:45 and 11:00 am (0745 and 0800 GMT) two cars and a hideout of the PKK,” said the counterterrorism services of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
The strikes “killed a military commander and two other PKK fighters” in the Mawat area in the northen Sulaimaniyah province, it said, adding two other fighters were missing.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye and its Western allies, holds positions in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where Turkiye also maintains military bases.
During a January visit to Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for regional efforts to combat the PKK in Iraq, as well as Kurdish fighters in neighboring Syrian Arab Republic, whom Ankara accuses of having links to the outlawed group.
Baghdad has recently sharpened its tone against the PKK, quietly listing it as a “banned organization” last year.
But Ankara wants Iraq to go further and officially declare it a terrorist group.
In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a military cooperation deal to establish joint command and training centers with the aim of fighting the PKK.


Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source

Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source
Updated 06 February 2025
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Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source

Sudan army advances on central Khartoum: military source
  • “Our forces are close to reaching the center of Khartoum... and expelling the Dagalo militia,” a source in the army said
  • “Our armored forces are advancing from multiple axes“

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s military advanced on central Khartoum “from multiple axes” on Thursday, an army source told AFP, with troops nearing the paramilitary-controlled Republican Palace.
The army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, has in recent weeks mounted a fierce offensive to reclaim full control of the capital.
“Our forces are close to reaching the center of Khartoum... and expelling the Dagalo militia,” a source in the army told AFP, referring to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
“Our armored forces are advancing from multiple axes,” he added, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On Wednesday, the army said it had “cleared out” the neighborhoods of Al-Remila and the Industrial Area in central Khartoum — only three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the RSF-held Republican Palace.
But eyewitnesses on Thursday said army troops had to make their way through RSF snipers posted on high-rises in what used to be Khartoum’s business and government district.
The RSF did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
Further south, witnesses reported clashes between the army and the RSF around Soba Bridge — a key southeastern entry point to the capital.
In recent weeks, the army has surged through the capital, breaking a nearly two-year siege by the RSF on its headquarters and pushing the paramilitary to the edges of Khartoum North, also known as Bahri.
The army’s advance on the capital is its biggest victory in a year, since it regained Omdurman across the Nile River which, together with Khartoum North and the city center, makes up greater Khartoum.
Since it erupted, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 12 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.


Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy
Updated 06 February 2025
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Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Syrians among victims in Swedish mass killing: Syrian embassy

Stockholm: Syrians were among those killed in Sweden’s worst mass shooting that left 10 people dead at an adult education center, the Syrian embassy said.
The embassy expressed “its condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, among them Syrians,” in a post on its Facebook page late on Wednesday.


Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan

Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan
Updated 06 February 2025
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Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan

Israel orders army to prepare for ‘voluntary departure’ of Gazans after Trump unveils plan
  • “Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said
  • Hamas official Basem Naim accused Katz of trying to cover up “for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza“

Israel’s defense minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal for the war-ravaged territory.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
He said he welcomed Trump’s “bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.”
He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas.
Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza’s population be “permanently” resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory.
US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating back to the establishment of the state.
Trump’s plan was roundly rejected by the Palestinians and much of the international community. Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law.