Israel’s Channel 12 television channel reported on December 28 that Israel waited until Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took office to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh so as not to affect the inauguration process.
Mr. Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on July 31 and Defense Minister Israel Katz recently confirmed that Tel Aviv was behind the incident, according to the newspaper. The Times of Israel.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on July 30
Mr. Haniyeh then came to Tehran to attend the inauguration of Mr. Pezeshkian, elected after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
The Times of IsraelCiting information from foreign media, Israel planned to assassinate Mr. Haniyeh when he arrived in Tehran to attend Mr. Raisi’s funeral, but then changed his mind because of concerns that it could kill civilians. The plan was shelved until he returned to Tehran for Mr. Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Mr. Haniyeh died when a bomb planted in his rec room exploded. According to Channel 12, the plan had been carefully prepared for many months but almost collapsed at the last minute because the air conditioner in Mr. Haniyeh’s room broke down in the middle of the night.
Therefore, he had to leave the room, leading to the possibility that he had to move to another room to continue sleeping. Because the bomb had limited explosive power, Mr. Haniyeh had to be present in the room for the plan to succeed.
The technical team then fixed the air conditioner and Mr. Haniyeh returned to the room. The bomb exploded at about 1:30 am. The plan was said to be too complicated for Israeli intelligence to handle, suggesting the involvement of internal Hamas and Iranian forces.
After Mr. Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar became the replacement to lead the organization. However, in October, Mr. Sinwar was killed by the Israeli army in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
In early October, Iran launched missiles to attack Israel in response to Mr. Haniyeh’s death, but most of the attacks were stopped by the Israeli military and its allies.
