Assassinated Hamas leader Haniyeh laid to rest in Qatar amid calls for revenge against Israel
Ismail Haniyeh, the martyred politburo chief of the Hamas resistance movement, has been laid to rest in the Qatari capital Doha in a ceremony attended by high-ranking officials from across the region.
Haniyeh’s body, wrapped in Palestinian flags, was buried at the royal cemetery in Lusail, north of Doha, in a ceremony attended by Iran’s vice-president Mohammad-Reza Aref and acting foreign minister Ali Baqeri Kani, among other dignitaries and representatives from Palestinian factions.
Before that, thousands of mourners including official representatives of several nations held a funeral prayer at Doha’s biggest mosque, Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, amid tight security.
Prayers and demonstrations took place in commemoration of the martyrdom of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza and the West Bank, along with several other countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Thousands have attended the funeral prayer of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by Israel during his visit to Iran, in Qatari capital of Doha.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the leaders who offered funeral prayers in absentia for Haniyeh.
Pakistan and Turkey have announced a national day of mourning following his death. Iran had announced three days of mourning in honor of Haniyeh.
Hamas in a statement called for a day of anger over Haniyeh’s killing, asking people to launch marches from every mosque denouncing the “cowardly crime of assassination”.
The body of Haniyeh had been flown to Doha following a mass procession in central Tehran on Thursday, which saw Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei leading funeral prayers for him.
Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, was assassinated along with his bodyguard, in an Israeli attack on his residence on Wednesday.
Ayatollah Khamenei warned the Israeli regime of a “harsh response” for the assassination of Haniyeh, saying the Islamic Republic has to avenge the blood of the Palestinian resistance leader.
“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our homeland and left us bereaved, but it also set the ground for a harsh punishment for itself,” the Leader said.
Haniyeh served as the head of the Hamas politburo from 2017 to 2024 and has lived in Doha for the past several years.
