Hamas Says Ismail Haniyeh's Murder Strengthens Resistance Against Israel

JAKARTA - Ismail Haniyeh's murder strengthened resistance against Israel, as the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militant groups commemorated the year of the death of the former Head of the Hamas Political Bureau on Thursday.

Palestinian militant group Hamas called the Israeli killing of Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran an act of "dangerous and coward" which actually strengthened Palestinian determination against occupation.

Haniyeh was killed on July 31, 2024, when Israeli forces attacked the building where he was staying in the Iranian capital, according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while attending President Masoud Pezeshkian's inauguration. Israel later acknowledged responsibility.

In a statement, Hamas said the killings highlighted the central role of resistance leaders in the Palestinian struggle, noting Haniyeh had lost several children and grandchildren to the conflict, according to Iran-based media PressTV.

"Time has proven that the killing policies of Hamas leaders only strengthen commitments to national rights and principles," the group said, adding that such attacks further strengthen the Palestinian people's determination. "So that the invaders are expelled from Palestinian land and its holy places," quoted from Daily Sabah August 1.

The group reaffirmed Haniyeh's call to set August 3 as a day of national and international support for Palestine.

"It is a matter of loyalty to syahid leader Ismail Haniyeh, we continue to affirm his call to make August 3 every year a global national day to support Gaza, al-Quds (Yerusalem), al-Aqsa Mosque, and prisoners," Hamas said.

The statement pledged to continue the fight "until the war of destruction and hunger against our people in the Gaza Strip ends."

Haniyeh's murder took place amid an Israeli genocide war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, following the Hamas invasion of southern Israel.

Medical sources in Gaza said that until yesterday the Palestinian death toll since October 2023 had reached 60,239 people, while the injured reached 146,894 people, quoted from WAFA.