Ismail Haniyeh to be buried in Qatar today

Qatar is to hold on Friday funeral ceremonies for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in an attack blamed on Israel that has deepened fears of a regional escalation.

Haniyeh, the Palestinian group’s political chief, had resided in Doha along with other members of the Hamas political office.

He will be buried at a cemetery in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital, following funeral prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque, the gas-rich emirate’s largest.

Hamas has said “Arab and Islamic leaders” as well representatives of other Palestinian factions and members of the public would attend the events.

Ismail Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in the pre-dawn attack on their accommodation in Tehran early Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.

He had travelled to Iran to attend Tuesday’s swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel, accused by Hamas, Iran and others of the attack, has not directly commented on it.

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The Hamas leader’s assassination came just hours after Israel struck a southern suburb of Beirut, killing Fuad Shukr, the military commander of Hamas-allied Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The killings are the latest of several incidents that have inflamed regional tensions during the Gaza war which has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

A public funeral ceremony for Haniyeh was held in Tehran on Thursday with crowds of mourners paying their respects.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh having earlier threatened “harsh punishment” for his killing.