Ismael Haniyeh was the leader of the armed group named Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by Argentina, Australia, Canada, the EU, Israel, Paraguay, the UK, and the USA.

He was assassinated by Israel whilst on a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 31st of July in its capital Tehran. The assassination was carried out most likely using an ATGM(Anti Tank Guided Missile). He was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of the new President, Musoud Pezeshkian who was voted in after the mysterious death of Irans former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

This marks a major escalation in the conflict, with Haniyeh being the negotiator during ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel and the ATGM strike being a violation of Iranian sovereignty. A major response is expected from Iran and the “Axis of Resistance”, the Iranian led alliance between Nasrallah(Hezbollah), Ansarallah(the Houthis) and the Syrian Arab Republic led by Bashar al Assad, as well as of course Hamas themselves, but no response has come yet. Many countries have condemned the attack for its obvious consequences of escalation, its counter productivity to ceasefire talks and its violation of Iranian territory

The funeral was held for him and his bodyguard who was also killed in the strike on August 2nd in Doha, Qatar. Separate funerals were held in many countries, such as Iran where the supreme leader led the prayers. National days of mourning were also held in Pakistan and Turkiye.

Many countries have sent out advisories to its citizens living in Lebanon to leave, some going so far as to evacuate non essential embassy staff from Lebanon. Alongside this, several airlines have cancelled their flights to Israel and Lebanon. For context Lebanon is where Hezbollah are based. Jordan has issued a statement that it will shoot down ANYTGHING that violates its airspace from either side, and Egypt has guaranteed to Iran that it shall remain neutral.

The Jordanian foreign minister visited Iran on August 5th, looking noticeably terrified, Iran has said that they may bomb Jordan too if it comes to it when asked what would happen if Jordan intercepted Iranian missiles, as Jordan has done in the past.

As for Hamas’ new leadership, Yahya Sinwar has been named as the new leader.