World leaders condemn assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

RAMALLAH: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was a “cowardly act” and urged Palestinians to remain united against Israel.

“President Mahmud Abbas of the State of Palestine strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, deeming it a cowardly act and a serious escalation,” Abbas’s office said in a statement. “He urged our people and their forces to unite, remain patient, and stand firm against the Israeli occupation.”

The world leaders have condemned assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Russia on Wednesday denounced the “unacceptable political assassination” of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov said.

“It is a completely unacceptable political assassination, and this will lead to a further escalation of tensions,” Bogdanov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Turkey also condemned the “shameful assassination” of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh — an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

“We condemn the assassination of the leader of Hamas’s political office, Ismail Haniyeh, in a shameful assassination in Tehran,” the ministry said, adding that “this attack also aims to spread the Gaza war to a regional dimension”.

Earlier, Palestinian group Hamas said Wednesday that an Israeli strike in Tehran killed its chief Ismail Haniyeh.

“Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his residence in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president,” the movement said in a statement.