(Files) This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry on February 13, 2024, shows Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Senior Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri has described the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a “grave escalation that will not achieve its goals”, the Reuters news agency reports.
Zuhri has also reportedly said Hamas will wage “open war to liberate Jerusalem” and the group is “ready to pay various prices” to do so, according to local media reports.
A Hamas statement said Haniyeh was killed in a “treacherous Zionist raid” on his residence in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Meanwhile Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV quoted senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk as saying that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh is a “cowardly act that will not go unpunished”.
