Qatar burial for Haniyeh as regional tensions soar
Published on: Saturday, August 03, 2024
By: AFP
Haniyeh, who lived in Doha along with other members of the Hamas political office, will be buried in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital.
DOHA: Mourners arrived at a Qatari mosque on Friday to farewell Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after his killing in Tehran, an attack blamed on Israel that deepened fears of wider war.
Haniyeh, the Palestinian armed group’s political chief, played a key role in mediated talks aiming to end nearly 10 months of war between his Islamist movement and Israel in Gaza.
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His killing triggered calls for revenge and raised questions about the continued viability of such negotiations.
Haniyeh, who lived in Doha along with other members of the Hamas political office, will be buried in Lusail, north of the Qatari capital, after funeral prayers at Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab mosque, the Gulf emirate’s largest.
His killing is among several incidents since April that have sent regional tensions soaring during the Gaza war which has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Turkey and Pakistan announced a day of mourning on Friday to honour Haniyeh, while Hamas called for a “day of furious rage”.
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Hours before the prayers, hundreds of mourners had already arrived at the Doha mosque.
Most donned scarves bearing the Palestinian flag or traditional keffiyeh patterns for the ceremony held under tight security.
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Doha traffic police and Qatar’s internal security forces monitored all approaches and police lined highway embankments adjoining the mosque grounds.
Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in a pre-dawn “hit” on their accommodation in Tehran early on Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said. Haniyeh 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.
A source close to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement told AFP that Iranian officials met in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss next steps with representatives of the “Axis of Resistance”, Tehran-aligned groups in the Middle East that include Hezbollah and Hamas.
“Two scenarios were discussed: a simultaneous response from Iran and its allies or a staggered response from each party,” said the source who had been briefed on the meeting, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The Hamas leader’s assassination came just hours after Israel struck a southern suburb of Beirut, killing Fuad Shukr, the military commander of Hezbollah, which supports Hamas.
Haniyeh’s deputy, Saleh al-Aruri, had already been killed in south Beirut early this year in a strike which a US defence official said Israel carried out.
In another high-profile killing, Israel’s army on Thursday confirmed that an air strike in July killed the Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif in Gaza.
Israel “delivered crushing blows to all our enemies”, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In Tehran on Thursday, thousands of mourners paid their respects during a public funeral ceremony for Haniyeh. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led the prayers, having earlier threatened “harsh punishment” for his killing.
Haniyeh’s coffin was then transferred to Doha.
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref left Tehran to attend the ceremonies in Doha, the Iranian government announced on Thursday.
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