Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital Wednesday, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the conflict even as the U.S. and other nations were scrambling to prevent an all-out regional war. Iran's supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran — and only hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Iran's ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut. As Iran threatens retaliation and Qatar casts doubt over the success of any future mediation between Israel and Hamas, FRANCE 24's Genie Godula is joined by Dr Filippo Dionigi, Senior Lecturer in Politics/International Relations with regional expertise on the Middle East with a focus on Lebanon, Syrian refugees, and Islamist movements such as Hezbollah.
