Israel's Report on the Elimination of Haniyeh; Hamas Leader Killed by Remote-Controlled Bomb

On January 8, Channel 12 of Israeli television reported that Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, was eliminated in Tehran on July 31, 2024, through a precisely planned operation involving a remote-controlled bomb at his residence. According to the network, this complex operation was planned for months but faced execution challenges at the last moment when Haniyeh's air conditioning unit broke down, causing him to leave his room for an extended period. This raised concerns about the potential transfer of the Hamas leader to another room and the subsequent cancellation of the operation, which was successfully completed after the air conditioning was repaired and Haniyeh returned to his room. Channel 12 also noted that Mossad operatives had discovered that Ismail Haniyeh had been going to a specific location in Tehran for all his trips and had only stayed in one room. The report stated that the bomb was planted in Haniyeh's room before the inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, allowing for his elimination without harming others. Sky News claimed on August 1 that Haniyeh was killed by a guided missile at his residence in Tehran. The Saudi-affiliated Al Arabiya news agency also reported, citing an informed source, that Haniyeh was killed by a direct missile strike to his body in Tehran. At that time, Hamas identified Israel as the perpetrator of the killing of its political bureau chief in Tehran, a claim confirmed by the Islamic Republic. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged for the first time on December 24 that Ismail Haniyeh, the former leader of Hamas, was killed by Israel in Tehran. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian when he was killed early Wednesday, July 31, at his residence. The Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported the same day, republishing an image of a building previously identified as Haniyeh's last residence in Tehran, stating that he had been 'hit by a projectile' and killed. The British newspaper Telegraph reported on August 1 that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, had hired forces from the IRGC to plant a bomb in the building where Ismail Haniyeh was staying in Tehran and killed him. Ali Younesi, a former Iranian intelligence minister, stated in a 2020 interview that 'all officials of the Islamic Republic should be concerned for their lives, and if Israel has not targeted Iranian political officials so far, it is because it has not yet decided to do so.'