Hamas leaders martyred by Israel in past

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh embraced martyrdom in Iran early on Wednesday, drawing fears of wider escalation in a region shaken by Israel’s war in Gaza and a worsening conflict in Lebanon.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president, and said it was investigating.

Iranian media reported that he was staying at “a special residence for war veterans in north Tehran” Iran’s NourNews said Haniyeh’s residence was hit by an airborne projectile.

Israel has assassinated or attempted to martyr leaders of Hamas and key operatives since the group was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Two years later, Hamas carried out its first attacks on Israeli military targets.

Here is a list of Palestinian leaders who were targeted by Israeli military.

• January 1996: Israel assassinated Hamas military leader Yahya Ayyash in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya.
• March 2004: Hamas spiritual leader and founder Sheikh Ahmed Yasin was killed by Israeli strike in Gaza.
• April 2004: Yasin’s successor and Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was killed by Israeli helicopter missile strike in Gaza City.
• January 2024: Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut.
• July 2024: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran.