Iran’s IRGC says a single missile pierced Haniyeh’s Tehran residence through a window, killing him instantly as he made a call.
Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Iran last year involved a precision missile fired from a distance that “struck the window directly”, hitting him as he was speaking on the phone, the spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, revealed on Sunday.
“The assassination of martyr Ismail Haniyeh did not involve any act of sabotage,” Naeini said, according to the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen news network. “A missile was fired from a certain distance and struck the window directly, hitting him while he was on a phone call from the same direction the missile came from,” he added.
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Haniyeh was killed on July 31, 2024, at a Tehran residence, a day after participating in the inauguration ceremony of Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. His bodyguard was killed in the attack as well.
Following the assassination, Naeini said, the Supreme National Security Council concluded that “there must be a definitive response,” adding that “The timing of the retaliation was left to the military command.”
He added that the delay in response was due to challenges faced during Operation True Promise 1 – the military operation against Israel.
Early Reports
At the time, Iran’s Noor News website said that Haniyeh was targeted by a shell fired from the air, noting that investigations were underway to determine the location from which the shell was launched. The Iranian Fars News Agency reported on August 1 that Haniyeh was assassinated by an airborne projectile that struck his residence, causing damage to its roof and windows.
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Israel’s broadcaster, KAN, claimed that Haniyeh was killed by a missile fired from a country outside Iran rather than from Iranian airspace.
At the same time, the Israeli military reportedly declined to comment on the incident and said it did not respond to foreign media reports.
Israel’s Confirmation
In December last year, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed for the first time that Israel was behind Haniyeh’s assassination, the Times of Israel reported.
The report stated that Katz’s confirmation “came offhand” in threats he made against the Yemeni Armed Forces.
“We will strike (Ansarallah’s) strategic infrastructure and decapitate its leaders. Just as we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah, in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon — we will do in Hodeidah and Sanaa,” Katz stated, according to the paper, in reference to the killing of the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.
(PC, Al Mayadeen)
