Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Iran.

Hamas has announced that its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli attack in Tehran.

According to Iranian media, an airstrike targeted a veterans' building in Tehran where Ismail Haniyeh was staying, around 02:00 local time (22:30 GMT).

Haniyeh, 62, was a prominent leader of Hamas and played a crucial role in ceasefire negotiations for the Gaza Strip. Israel has not yet responded, but it has vowed to dismantle Hamas following the October On southern Israel, which resulted in 1,200 deaths.

Wednesday, the Israeli government's press office posted a photo of Ismail Haniyeh on social media with the caption "eliminated," but this post has since been removed. Hamas reports that Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in on Tuesday.

Haniyeh's death might delay ceasefire efforts in Gaza, as he was a key figure in the negotiations facilitated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt. Several nations, including Iraq, Turkey, Russia, and Qatar, have condemned the attack. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US had no prior knowledge or involvement in the assassination. Hamas's armed wing warned that Haniyeh's death would escalate the conflict significantly.

In response, Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has promised "harsh punishment" against Israel and declared three days of national mourning.

Haniyeh's death occurred just hours after Israel announced it had killed Fuad Shukr, the top military commander of Hezbollah, in an airstrike.

This strike was reportedly in retaliation for a rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend. Hezbollah has yet to confirm Shukr's death but has acknowledged that a building where he was present was targeted in the attack.

A statement from the group on Wednesday indicated that civil defense teams are working slowly to clear the rubble from the destroyed site and are awaiting further results. Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated that while the country does not seek to escalate tensions with Hezbollah, it is "prepared to handle all scenarios."

Haniyeh was a key figure in Hamas from the late 1980s and was imprisoned by Israel for three years in 1989 during the crackdown on the first Palestinian uprising. He was exiled in 1992 to a no-man's-land between Israel and Lebanon along with other Hamas leaders.

Haniyeh was appointed Palestinian prime minister in 2006 after Hamas won the most seats in national elections, but was dismissed a year later following violent clashes with Fatah, which had led to his ousting from the Gaza Strip. He rejected his dismissal as "unconstitutional" and continued to govern Gaza. Haniyeh became head of Hamas's political bureau in 2017.

In 2018, the US Department of State designated him a terrorist. He had been living in Qatar for several years. His official funeral is scheduled for Thursday in Tehran, with his burial on Friday in Doha, Qatar, according to a senior Hamas official.